Cape Town – A suspected cable thief suffered burn wounds to the upper body and his face when a live wire at the repair site of an electrical fault blew up in Alexandra, Joburg.
The suspect is currently in the custody of Sandringham police.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said City Power teams and contractors were busy on-site trenching to repair a cable fault near the Alexandra Substation where the suspect allegedly tried to cut and steal copper cable.
“What the suspect was not aware of is that some of the cables were live and supplied electricity to customers at that time of his actions.
“The cable blew up and burnt the suspect on most of the upper body including the face,” Mangena said.
Mangena adds that when the police arrived on-site and rescued the suspect just as the community was about to beat the suspect up accusing him of adding to their woes of going days without power due to cable theft.
Mangena said the area near Riverpark and the surroundings was one of the hot spots for cable theft and vandalism, and part of the reason most of the community east of the Jukskei River have gone for almost a week without electricity.
Mangena confirmed that the unknown suspect has been charged with tampering with, and attempted theft of essential infrastructure, and other related crimes.
Meanwhile, City Power recorded 25 incidents of cable theft and vandalism this weekend alone, with eight of those happening in the Inner City.
IOL