A man is fighting for his life in the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto after he was struck by fallen high voltage main line electricity cables on Main Reef Road between Randfontein and Krugersdorp in the North West Province this evening.
The cause of the incident and the series of events preceding it remain uncertain and will form the subject of a South African Police Force investigation.
Common cause information indicates that the man had been walking at the roadside when cables separated from pylons overhead and fell to the ground. As well as sparking a grass fire, the man was contacted by the high voltage lines and electrocuted.
Netcare911 Paramedics arrived at the scene to find the man in a critical condition. They were unable to get close to him while the power lines were still live but noted signs of movement. The man managed to crawl a short distance from the cables and medics pulled him to safety.
He was in a critical condition, having sustained severe electrical burn wounds to his lower limbs and abdomen. Medics initiated care and called for the assistance of the Netcare1 Aeromedical Helicopter which landed at the scene.
He was transported by helicopter to the specialist hospital. In another incident in Clayville, a man was killed when he was electrocuted at a factory in Tembisa.
It is thought that the man had made contact with electrical components of a distribution board. Current passed through his body and he fell to the floor. He sadly died prior to the arrival of medics.
Jeffrey Wicks
Media Liaison Officer - Gauteng
Netcare Limited
Netcare 911
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