Young mother electrocuted while connecting fridge

Nov 20, 2008 News

A young mother of two, of the West Coast Berbice village of Bush Lot, was electrocuted while plugging back the power to her refrigerator yesterday afternoon.

Juliet Mohabir, 25, was pronounced dead on arrival at the Fort Wellington Hospital, where she was rushed by her husband shortly after 14:00 hours.

At the time of her electrocution, Mohabir was in the process of doing her house cleaning and her clothing had become wet.

Her sister-in-law, Premwattie Sukhdeo, told this newspaper that they would normally shut off the power supply to their Lot181Bush Lot residence whenever they undertake to clean the refrigerator.

However, yesterday, this was not done.

Sukhdeo said that she plugged out the wire that takes current to the refrigerator, and had completed cleaning the appliance when Mohabir volunteered to plug it back in.

“As soon as she push in the plug she fall down,” Sukhdeo told this newspaper.

She said that she immediately ran upstairs and turned off the main switch, but by then it was too late, as Mohabir lay unconscious on the floor.

“She was cleaning the kitchen and her clothes were wet,” Sukhdeo added.

The woman’s husband, Looknauth, who was at work when the incident occurred, was quickly summoned; and he took his unconscious wife to the hospital, where she was officially pronounced dead.

As news of her death was disclosed, several relatives broke down and had to be consoled.

Mohabir, who was the mother of a two-year-old girl and an 11-month-old boy, was described by relatives as a very loving person.