Electrocution fatalities increase as copper wire thieves continue their rampage, stripping transformers and electricity cables of every inch of copper. The most recent incident of attempted copper wire theft, with electrocution as the result, occurred on Thursday, December 6.

According to municipal electrical workers, a power surge and the resulting loss of power to some businesses in the industrial area was reported.

Upon investigating the cause, an electrocuted body, was found lying next to the fence which surrounds the transformer.

After being informed of this, the Zoutpansberger immediately went to the scene, just in time to see the last of the police vehicles leave the scene. The other remaining vehicle was a hearse, which came to transport the body of a dead copper wire thief.

The fence surrounding the transformer had been cut at the back, at which point the suspects gained entry.

According to one of the municipal electricians on the scene, this was a very dangerous move as this was done very close to the high-voltage side of the transformer. This meant that, on that specific side of the transformer, about 22 000 volts ripped through the copper thief’s body when he accidently touched to life wires.

It is believed that their were two suspects – the other one apparently dragged his friends body out of the enclosed area before fleeing the scene.

Fortunately, damage was restricted to a fuse; the whole transformer was still intact and electricity was soon restored to the area.

Municipal spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi afterwards said that although the loss of life was sad, copper thieves should take this as a very serious warning of what could happen if one did not respect electricity.

According to Bobodi, copper thieves annual cost the municipality hundreds of thousands of rands (if not millions), which could have been better spent on service delivery.

Mr Bobodi said that one transformer cost over R50 000 and replacing one or two a week does not come cheaply. He said it is of the utmost importance to report any matter which might help the police arrest these copper thieves and prevent further crimes such as these from taking place.

Mr Bobodi said that preventing the theft of copper from transformers and cables would not only save valuable resources and money, but would stop the loss of life in such an irresponsible way.

Captain Maano Sadike, local police spokesperson, said that the suspect hadn’t been identified yet, but that he was believed to be about 40 years old.

Police investigation into the matter is continuing and the police is appealing to the community to come forth with any information which might either lead to the arrest of the other suspect or which could help the police identify the body.