WARNING: Live electrical pole at van Staden Street
He screamed, fell to the ground and it looked as if he was having convulsions. I immediately picked him up and carried him away. At first, I thought something bit him.
LYDENBURG – A four-year-old child suffered an electrical shock when he touched a live wire hanging from a pole in van Staden Street.
According to the child’s mother, who does not want to be named, she was dropping off her older son at Laerskool Lydenburg when her four-year-old touched a wire leading from the electrical pole.
“He screamed, fell to the ground and it looked as if he was having convulsions. I immediately picked him up and carried him away. At first, I thought something bit him.
I know what I saw and I know what happened. I could not live with myself if I didn’t report it or at least alert residents about the danger.”
She said after she carried him away, she realised that he had touched the wire leading from the pole. “He is complaining of a headache, but have I not removed him sooner, who knows what could have happened. I have reported it to the municipality. I just think that we should make residents aware of this as soon as possible.”
Van Staden Street is situated behind the railway. It forms part of the one-way route parents have to drive to drop and pick their kids up from Laerskool Lydenburg. The pole is also situated across from Doodlebugs nursery school at a green mini-substation.
The newspaper went to the pole as described and a distinct electrical ticking sound could be heard leading from the pole. The paper also reported it to Thaba Chweu Local Municipality.
In the meantime, residents are urged to stay clear of the wire and pole until inspection has been done.
