Electric cable thief dies stealing

A young man suspected to have been trying to steal overhead copper cables from a transformer along the Accra-Tema motorway Wednesday night has died from electrocution.

The man was found dead Thursday morning under the transformer, which powers streetlights on the motorway. His body lied beside various types of tools including spanners and cutters.

The unidentified man was said to have climbed the two poles on which the transformer sits at a time that there was a power cut in the area.

Eyewitnesses say the man, believed to be in his late twenties, was in the processes of loosening the electrical cables when power was restored; causing him to be electrocuted.

The lifeless body of the man lying beside his tools

The Police have since removed his body from the site to the morgue for autopsy.

Tema District Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Juliana Obeng, told tv3network.com that the Police cannot confirm the cause of death yet as investigations are on-going

The Tema motorway has recorded rampant electrical cable theft cases over the years; a situation that causes non-functioning of streets lights on the road at night.

Cable theft has over the years affected the country’s telecom and electricity sector causing operators millions of dollars to replace and fix interruptions.

Cable thieves often operate by breaking into underground cable chambers, and using winches to draw out many metres of copper cable. The insulation is then removed and the copper is extracted for sale or export.