A tragedy occurred in the village of Krugloozernoye near Uralsk, where a 10-year-old boy died from an electric shock on the premises of an electrical substation. Police have opened a criminal case and are establishing all circumstances of the incident, reports infohub.kz.
The incident happened on the evening of September 1. According to preliminary data, the boy, born in 2015, climbed onto the substation and received an electric shock. The impact threw him to the ground, and he died at the scene.
Aliya Nauryzgaliyeva, senior inspector for information policy of the police department of West Kazakhstan region, said: "A criminal case has been opened into the death of a minor in the village of Krugloozernoye. A pre-trial investigation is underway. All circumstances of the incident are being established."
According to the regional publication "My City," local residents claim that the substation area was not fenced off and the doors were left unlocked. Villagers say the voltage at the substation was 10,000 volts. However, this information has not been officially confirmed.
Witnesses told regional media that they saw a bright flash and sparks, after which the child was thrown back from the facility. Children nearby informed the victim's brother, who ran to the scene and attempted to provide first aid.
Law enforcement officers will need to establish all circumstances of the tragedy, including checking compliance with safety requirements at the facility. "The police remind parents to regularly explain safety rules to their children," added Nauryzgaliyeva.
Earlier, other cases of electrical injuries among children were reported: in Astana, a five-year-old child received a severe electrical injury in the courtyard of a residential building due to a cable laid to a construction site, and in Kostanay, doctors saved a 15-year-old teenager after an electric arc shock of more than 27,000 volts on the roof of a railway car. In both cases, the victims were hospitalized in serious condition.