Three Electrocuted In Obuasi, Kasoa

Three people were electrocuted in two separate incidents at Kasoa in the Central Region and Obuasi in Ashanti Region on Saturday, throwing the two communities into a state of shock and mourning.

Two of them, William Awal, 35, an employee of the Metro Insurance Company in Obuasi, and Nana Yaw, 38, unemployed, were electrocuted at New Estate in Obuasi when a television antenna they were mounting fell onto a high tension pole, while the third, Kobby Adjei, 22, was killed when he trampled over an overhead wire that had dropped on the ground at the Kasoa High Tension area.

In the Obuasi incident, Awal and Nana Yaw were reported to have died on the spot, that was before they could receive any medical attention. A third person, however, survived the incident and is now on admission at the Anglogold Hospital in Obuasi.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mathew Asante, who briefed the Daily Graphic, said the bodies of the deceased had been deposited at the Anglogold Hospital mortuary in Obuasi, while the survivor, Brimah Adams, 38, is receiving treatment at the same hospital.

He said initial police investigations established that the deceased were electrocuted around 6:30 p.m. on Saturday when a TV antenna they were mounting incidentally fell on a high-tension pole which was close to where they were working.

He said moments after the antenna had fallen on the high-tension pole, Awal and Nana Yaw received electrical shocks which caused them to falldown, adding that efforts to revive them proved futile.

DSP Asante said the third victim, Adams, however, survived the ordeal and that medical officers at the Anglogold Hospital had been able to stabilise his condition.

The Kasoa incident occurred when Kobby fell on a high-tension wire after rains in the area had caused the overhead wire to drop.

According to an eyewitness, Michael Acquah, as soon as the high tension cable fell, Kobby joined others in running away but, unfortunately, he fell on the wire, sustaining severe burns from his stomach downwards.

He said Kobby was rushed to the Kasoa Health Centre, where he was referred to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital because of the severity of the burns.

At the Korle-Bu Burns Centre, the nurse on duty, Attah Frimpongmaa, told the Daily Graphic that Kobby was already dead when he was brought to the hospital about 10 p.m. on Saturday.