Eskom is investigating the tragic death of a 21-year-old man who was allegedly electrocuted by a low-hanging electrical cable in Small Farms, Evaton, on Thursday, 11 April.
Eskom spokesperson, Ronel Kotze said: “This is a regrettable loss of life, our deepest condolences go out to the victim’s family and friends.”
According to reports, the victim was returning home with a friend after work when he came into contact with the live cable, possibly with a bush cutter he used for his grass-cutting business. He sustained fatal injuries in the incident.
Eskom revealed that their technicians had previously responded to a theft at the Jetta substation, located roughly one kilometer from the incident site, two months prior. This theft caused a power outage in the area, which was subsequently restored. However, Eskom’s preliminary investigation into the recent fatality suggests an auxiliary transformer was stolen during the earlier incident, and neither the theft nor the outage was reported.
“The theft of network equipment is a major concern for Eskom, these criminal activities not only disrupt our ability to deliver electricity to customers but also pose a serious safety threat to the public,” Kotze added.
Kotze emphasized Eskom’s ongoing public safety awareness campaigns that educate communities on the safe use of electricity and proper behavior around electrical infrastructure.
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