RESIDENTS in Philippi are shocked after four children were electrocuted to death on Monday, 25 September.
The incident happened when people were struggling to deal with their flooded homes in the area due to floods.
The kids are suspected to have been playing in the water when the incident happened.
It is not clear how all kids were electrocuted but residents suspect that the kids were in contact with naked and wet izinyoka cables.
The four boys between the ages of eight and 10 were found in a pool of water from the floods.
A community leader from the Marikana informal settlement, Nompumelelo Mpindi, said most of the electricity at the skwatta camps were disconnected because their homes were full of water.
“The side where the kids died is where we connect our cables to bring electricity to our homes. However, some people had disconnected the electricity because their houses were flooding. It could be that when people were disconnecting cables, they may have not tied the cables safely,” he said.
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Residents from the area said they connect izinyoka because they do not have electricity.
Eskom in the Western Cape said they are investigating to establish what transpired.
Eskom’s general manager for Eskom Distribution, Cape Coastal Cluster Mbulelo Yedwa extended his condolences to the families.
He said those who are responsible for izinyoka ekasi must be arrested.
“Losing children in such a tragic way is never easy and we need to protect them by ensuring that they have a safe and secure environment to play. We urge the community to come forward with information that can put those responsible for illegally connecting to the electricity network behind bars,” Yedwa said.
Cape Town police spokesman Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi confirmed the incident.
He said cops from Philippi East cop shop responded to a complaint on Monday, 25 September.
“Upon arrival at the crime scene in Klipfontein Mission Station informal settlement at around 3 pm, they found community members retrieving the bodies of four boys from the water. The victims were declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel.
"A postmortem will be conducted to confirm the cause of death. Philippi East police registered an inquest docket for further investigations,” said Swartbooi.
