Doctors to amputate arm of electrical burns victim - relatives

Doctors to amputate arm of electrical burns victim – relatives

Jan 13, 2013 News

Doctors were yesterday preparing to amputate the left arm of 39-year-old Asgar Mohamed, who suffered severe electrical burns on Friday after coming into contact with a burst wire in the Stabroek area.

Asgar Mohamed at the scene.

Mohamed was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s operation theatre yesterday afternoon shortly after being visited by his mother, brother and other relatives. The patient’s brother told Kaieteur News that they were informed that the injured limb would be amputated.
Mohamed, called ‘Jesus’, of South Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, collapsed outside Demico House around 13:00 hrs on Friday after clutching the dangling wire.
Eyewitnesses said that the mishap occurred when a passing vehicle snagged a wire which stretches from an area near the Stabroek Market to a pole near Demico House. A woman who operates one of the Digicel and GT&T booths near Demico House said that she heard a ‘booming’ sound shortly after 12:00 hrs. “Then we see a wire fall on a car and light it on fire.”
She said that ‘Jesus’, who performed odd jobs in the area, was attempting to remove the wire from the vehicle when he was hit by volts of electricity. However, other eyewitnesses said that Mohamed was attempting to pick up the wire from the ground when he sustained his injury.
Mohamed was rushed to the GPHC and admitted to the High Dependency Unit.
A relative alleged that no officials from the Guyana Power and Light Corporation (GPL) had spoken to the family or visited the injured man.
Some eyewitnesses blamed the power company for Mohamed’s injury. They claimed that a GPL crew arrived before the handyman was injured, but did not immediately cordon off the scene or attempt to repair the damaged wire.
However, one woman stated that several people continued to walk in close proximity to the wire despite appeals by the police.
A Guyana Power and Light (GPL) release stated that a truck came into contact with an overhead guy wire, causing it to snap and fall to the ground. The release said that a section of the wire came into contact with a 13.8 KV feeder, and this caused the guy wire to become energized.
“The police and fire service responded immediately and cordoned off the area in which the incident occurred to prevent persons from coming into contact with the live guy wire. Inexplicably, a male civilian forcefully breached the cordon and came into contact with the live wire, which resulted in his electrocution.”