Boy, 13, killed by 15,000-volt electric shock from overhead power line after ‘climbing on train for a photo’
A GERMAN boy has died after being shocked with 15,000 volts of electricity while taking a photo on a train in a freight yard.
The boy, 13, was playing in near the train yard in Schwerte, Germany, when he was suddenly shocked.
Railway employees noticed a bright flash of light around 9 pm on Monday evening and called the authorities.
After switching off the overhead electric lines which supply power to the trains, rescue crews tried to save the boy.
He was taken to hospital with severe burns on his body, and later died of his injuries.
Warnings were previously posted by federal police, reading: “Electricity is able to jump the air and reach the ground in an arc through the body.”
In early February, one child died and another was left in critical condition after they were hit and dragged by a train in the German town of Recklinghausen.
Local media said another nine-year-old suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital, where the boy is fighting to survive.
According to a police spokesman, both boys are from the town of Recklinghausen.
Police confirmed several other young people were involved in the accident but did not give further details.
It’s unclear how the accident unfolded, but local media said upwards of 35 firemen and rescue workers were deployed to the accident site, near a former freight yard.
Rescue teams were searching the track bed and using drones to look for victims, they added.
Herbert Reul, interior minister of the North Rhine-Westphalia, told journalists: “It’s horrible.
“Children and trains and at such a young age, it’s just horrible what happened here and one can only hope the parents will have the strength to overcome this great misfortune.”
Another tragedy unfolded in a German children’s home last month, when an 11 year old boy stabbed a 10 year old girl to death.
The tragic incident happened at a child and youth welfare facility in Wunsiedel, in the Bavaria region in Germany.
Other children were on a skiing trip at the time of tragedy, but the girl – identified as Lena – was understood to be too nervous to go.
She was set to be reunited with her dad for Easter.