Failure to follow the rules for using electrical equipment has once again proven that it can end in tragedy. As "Lutsk Investment" was informed by the press service of VAT "Volynoblenergo," on June 21 an accident occurred in the village of Novostav in Lutsk district involving a 12-year-old boy, a resident of the regional center. He had come to Novostav to visit his grandmother and there decided to use electricity to dig up worms for fishing. For this purpose, without his parents' knowledge, he took an extension cord and ran it outside behind the barn. Then he connected to the extension cord a copper conductive wire about one and a half meters long, stuck its ends into the ground, and after that plugged the homemade device into the socket. The wet ground instantly conducted the current. When the boy came barefoot to look at the result of his action, the voltage immediately passed through his body as well. From the electric injuries sustained, the child died on the spot.
Since the beginning of the year, this is already the third case in Volyn region of fatal non-occupational injury to third parties from electric shock. Two of them (in Turiysk and Lyubeshiv districts) occurred due to unauthorized entry into electrical installations and attempted theft of equipment, while the cause of the tragedy in Novostav is personal carelessness and disregard for elementary rules of using electrical equipment in everyday life.
Alarming is the fact that Volyn region this year is among the leaders in the statistics of fatal non-occupational injuries from electric shock, whereas in 2004 it had not a single such case. Overall, over the past year in Ukraine, non-occupational injuries claimed the lives of one hundred thirty people. The most deaths were in Donetsk — 11, in Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk — 9 each, in Chernihiv and Vinnytsia — 8 each.