Suspected cable thief recovering in hospital from burns sustained at Germiston substation

A man was electrocuted but survived the electric current during an alleged attempted cable theft at Wychwood substation in Primrose, Germiston, on Thursday afternoon.

“A male patient was identified by police from the substation to the Marathon informal settlement in Primrose at 3.50pm. He was found at Cemetery Road and was given treatment on the scene before being sent to OR Tambo Memorial Hospital in Boksburg,” Ekurhuleni emergency services spokesperson William Ntladi said on Friday.

A video on Twitter shows the man, who is in visible pain and with burns to most parts of his body, telling the paramedics that he was burning.

The paramedics asked him to stand still as they wanted to cut the backpack he was carrying.

He stepped into the emergency vehicle by himself, while moaning in pain.

Ntladi said the man sustained second degree burn wounds on his entire body.

“He managed to walk away from the substation and all his vital organs were not severely affected by the current,” Ntladi said.