There are no statistics available in South Africa on the number of people killed as a result of electric shock. These incidents are very seldom if ever reported by the news media.
As a service to the public, we will be presenting 3 cases of electrocution, which actually happened in the area of Johannesburg and of which we are aware
#1 ELECTRIC GATE
An overcast day with a light drizzle
The electric gate is not working, as it should
The 17 year old Son of the owner runs down the driveway, barefoot, to open the gate manually.
He tries to disengage the electric motor from the gate track.
There is a problem,
The motor or the metal housing has come alive due to electrical malfunction.
He tries to unlatch the drive mechanism
The electricity locks his hands around the mechanism
He dies, unable to free himself.
CAUSE
We do not know. The electrical supply to the motor, which operates the gate automatically, may have been on it’s own circuit which would have bypassed the Earth Leakage Unit.
This could have been the means by which the motor housing came alive.
QUESTION
Was the wiring to the motor correct. Did the earthing provide a solid mechanical bond ?
THIS TOOK A FEW SECONDS AND WOULD HAVE BEEN OVER IN LESS THAN A MINUTE
