Latest update November 17th, 2024 1:00 AM
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Man suffers severe electrical burns after clutching live wire
– GPL says passing truck caused mishap
Doctors may be forced to amputate the left arm of a 39-year-old man who suffered severe electrical burns yesterday after coming into contact with a burst wire in the Stabroek Market area.
Asgar Mohamed at the scene
Asgar Mohamed, called ‘Jesus’, of South Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, collapsed outside Demico House around 13:00 hrs after clutching the dangling wire.
He has been admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s High Dependency Unit. A brother of the victim described Mohamed’s condition as critical. He said that doctors have informed the family that they may have to amputate the limb if Mohamed’s condition does not improve.
According to the sibling, he has already signed a document which would permit the staff to perform the surgery.
Eyewitnesses said that the mishap occurred when a passing vehicle snagged a wire which stretches from an area near the Stabroek Market to a pole near Demico House. The wire then snapped.
A woman who operates one of the Digicel and GT&T booths near Demico House said that she heard a ‘booming’ sound shortly after 12:00 hrs. “Then we see a wire fall on a car and light it on fire.”
She said that ‘Jesus’, who performed odd jobs in the area, was attempting to remove the wire from the vehicle when he was hit by volts of electricity. However, other eyewitnesses said that Mohamed was attempting to pick up the wire from the ground when he sustained his injury.
Vendors at the scene assisted in putting the badly injured man into a police vehicle, which took Mohamed to the GPHC. Amazingly, Mohamed was still conscious and attempted to climb out of the vehicle unaided.
The victim has sustained burns to the entire left arm, which was swollen to twice its size. His fingers were twisted out of shape.
Some eyewitnesses blamed the Guyana Power and Light for Mohamed’s injury. They claimed that a GPL crew arrived before the handyman was injured, but did not immediately cordon off the scene or attempt to repair the damaged wire.
However, one woman stated that several people continued to walk in close proximity to the wire despite appeals by the police.
A Guyana Power and Light (GPL) release stated that a truck came into contact with an overhead guy wire, causing it to snap and fall to the ground. The release said that a section of the wire came into contact with a 13.8 KV feeder, and this caused the guy wire to become energized.
“Unfortunately, the energized guy wire fell unto a few persons who were in the vicinity, causing injuries to at least one of them,” the release said.
“The police and fire service responded immediately and cordoned off the area in which the incident occurred to prevent persons from coming into contact with the live guy wire. Inexplicably, a male civilian forcefully breached the cordon and came into contact with the live wire, which resulted in his electrocution.”
Mohamed’s brother said that they had seen him on Thursday and that he had informed his mother that he wanted her to bring food for him. He said that when they received the news of the mishap, family members were initially informed that he had died.
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