Three members of a family were electrocuted after they touched a metallic line that had been used for hanging clothes in Nyatwere village, Homa Bay County.
The incident occurred on Saturday evening and involved brothers Elijah Otieno and Isaiah Otieno, along with their sister-in-law Laventer Otieno.
According to the police, Laventer was electrocuted first when she attempted to remove her clothes from a metallic wire used for drying clothes.
The wire had been connected to the iron sheet of her house, which appeared to have a flowing current due to poor power connection, as stated by the police.
The woman was struck after she touched the metallic clothesline and screamed for help.
Oblivious of the dangers, the two brothers rushed out for her rescue by trying to pull her from the scene.
They were also electrocuted the moment they touched her, police said.
Police said preliminary findings show wiring was poorly and unprofessionally done in the house.
“We are looking for the said person who did the wiring in the house as part of the probe into the incident,” police handling the matter said.
The bodies were transported to Rachuonyo South Sub County Hospital mortuary for autopsy.
They sustained severe burns when removed from the scene. Officials recommend using pieces of wood to rescue electrocution victims. Such incidents, common in villages and estates, are often attributed to unprofessional wiring.
A campaign is underway to address this issue, with Kenya Power listing approved agents for home wiring.
In another incident, a falling tree in Kakuzi forest, Muranga County, tragically killed a 62-year-old woman named Agnes Njeri Mwaniki as she and her nieces were gathering firewood on Wednesday, April 3rd, according to police.
Witnesses said as they collected the firewood, some men were felling trees using a power saw.
In the process, a tree that had been cut fell towards the direction the women were collecting the firewood hitting one of them.
She sustained head injuries and was rushed to Makuyu Health Center for treatment and referred to Kenol Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival.
The body was moved to General Kago Funeral Home awaiting postmortem.
Police are investigating the tragedy.
BY THE STAR
