RUNDU – Two construction workers died on the spot when they were electrocuted by a high-voltage cable at a construction site in Rundu, manned by a Chinese firm.
Eight other workers were rushed to the Rundu Intermediate Hospital where they received emergency treatment.
The incident occurred last Friday between 16h00 and 17h00.
The workers were busy painting at the Woerman Brock store building currently being constructed in the town.
The workers were trying to shift scaffolding when a long metal pole fell onto the power line just above the building and it hit a ladder and all ten were electrocuted. The powerful current threw them through the air and resulted in two men dying on the spot and the other eight being injured.
“The metal pole came into contact with the power line just above the building. It was also connected to the ladder and the powerful current shocked everyone who was on it and those holding onto it. The two that died were holding it from the ground,” said one worker who witnessed the tragedy.
Workers who survived were hospitalised on Friday evening and discharged on Sunday as their condition stabilised.
The building work is currently being done by a Chinese construction company Sanli Construction and the owner or the site manager Yan Bin could not respond to inquiries from New Era due to a supposed language barrier – gesturing that he does not understand English.