Johannesburg – A second person died in as many days from electricity-related mishaps, City Power said Tuesday.
City Power Spokesperson Isaac Mangena said the dead person found on Tuesday was a “foreign national from Lesotho” who was “killed early this morning after he vandalised one of our mini substations at Hawker Siddeley in Roodepoort”.
Mangena said the victim opened the mini substation allegedly intending to steal copper bits.
“The mini substation blew up badly injuring the person. He was taken to hospital where he was certified dead,” said Mangena.
Vandalism and cable theft incidents have been on the rise in Roodepoort.
In the first incident on Monday, the body of a 28-year-old woman was found in the afternoon in a bushy wetland area of Meriting section, Lenasia.
“It is suspected that the woman got electrocuted by the illegal connections running through the bushes,” said Mangena.
“The residents say the woman went missing on the 8th of October after a community meeting in the area.”
City Power said it was alerted by police of the electrocution on Monday.
The police also requested the power to be switched off and illegal connections removed to ensure the area was safe.
“We have been grappling with the problem of illegal connections in the Lenasia area, which are not only costing City Power millions of rand in lost revenue but are dangerous as proven in this case,” said Mangena.
“Both cases have been handed over to the police who are busy with their investigations.
“City Power extends condolences to the families of both victims.”
Mangena said City Power has again warned against tampering with electricity infrastructure.
