A family watched in shock as a toddler was electrocuted by a bare electric cable inside the house.
The girl, Sentelwe Mabuza (1) of Maliyaduma, was confirmed dead at the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital on Saturday after frantic efforts by her family to save her.
According to the child’s maternal grandfather, Jabulane Matsebula, the tragic incident occurred while the toddler was playing inside the house.
Matsebula said the child tripped over a cable that had been connected to a television decoder.
He explained that the cable had previously been manually repaired, with exposed wires wrapped in sellotape.
“When she tripped over the cable, the sellotape became loose, leaving the wires bare. She then touched the exposed wires and was electrocuted,” he said.
He said the family immediately sought emergency assistance by calling the police emergency number 999/9999.
“The police advised us to call an ambulance. We were informed that the only available ambulance had already attended to a road accident. I then contacted a local community police and asked him to rush the child to RFM Hospital in his private vehicle,” said Matsebula.
Despite the desperate efforts to get medical assistance, the child was certified dead upon arrival at the hospital.
Chief Police Information and Communication Officer, Senior Superintendent Phindile Zwane, confirmed the incident.
