A homeless man was electrocuted when he apparently fell on to high-voltage overhead cables at Cape Town Station.
|||Cape Town - A homeless man was electrocuted when he apparently fell on to high-voltage overhead cables at Cape Town Station early on Monday, cutting the power supply to trains.
Police spokesman Frederick van Wyk said although an ID book had been found in his pocket, they had not yet been able to inform the man’s family, so he could not yet be named.
Police have opened an inquest docket.
Metrorail’s Mthutuzile Swartz said preliminary investigation indicated a vagrant sleeping on the station deck fell to his death on to the overhead wires above platform seven at 6.14am.
Platforms seven and eight were closed for three hours and trains from the southern suburbs diverted to other platforms, causing delays, Swartz said.
Swartz extended Metrorail’s condolences and said every effort would be made to trace the man’s family
The body was removed at 9.12am and traffic to the affected platforms resumed at 9.29am after the electricity had been restored.
There were several posts about the incident on the Facebook page Traffic fines, cameras & updates in Western Cape.
Anyone with information about the incident can contact Cape Town Railway Police at 021 443 4327, Crime Stop confidentially at 086001011 or SMS Crime Line at 32211.
Cape Times