Faulty Phuket public lighting deals deadly electric shock

PHUKET: A construction worker died from an electric shock yesterday afternoon when he leaned against a barbed wire fence to urinate.

“The fence was accidentally electrified by a frayed wire,” said Lt Peerasit Noopayan of the Cherng Talay Police.

A nearby light pole was leaning to one side, and the frayed wire which supplies it with electricity came into contact with the fence, electrifying it, a rescue worker said.

Called to the scene, a workers’ camp behind the Cherng Talay administrative office at 5:45pm, police and Kusoldharm rescue workers found the man – known only as Mr Dang – unconscious on the ground.

“He had a small black spot on his abdomen where the skin was burned,” said Lt Peerasit.

Friends told police that Mr Dang had been relaxing after work when he said he needed to urinate. He walked to the nearby fence, and then suddenly fell down, Lt Peerasit said.

“His friends shook him to try to wake him up, but he didn’t respond, so they called the police,” Lt Peerasit said.

Efforts to revive Mr Dang with CPR at the scene were unsuccessful. He was then taken to Thalang Hospital, where medical staff tried for an hour to resuscitate him before pronouncing him dead.

— Thawit Bilabdullar