Young man dies after touching power box on street

KÜTAHYA

The street was hit by a flood and Resul Pekuslu, trying to stop himself from slipping over, reached out to hold onto a junction box that was leaking electricity.

Resul Pekuslu, a 17-year-old student, lost his life on Sept. 15 after touching an electric junction box on the sidewalk during a heavy rain shower in the Central Anatolian province of Kütahya. 

The street was hit by a flood during the downpour and Pekuslu, trying to stop himself from slipping over, reached out to grab onto a junction box that was leaking electricity, Doğan News Agency reported, quoting eyewitnesses. 

Rescue teams could only help after technicians from the power grid company cut the electricity, and were unable to bring the young man back to life after he suffered a heart failure. 

The victim’s father said he would launch legal action over the incident. 

“He was going to school. He was full of life. He was interested in music and performing rap music. He was preparing for the university exams and his biggest dream was to become a teacher,” daily Milliyet quoted Ziya Pekuslu as saying. 

Oğuzhan Altuntaş, a real estate firm owner on the street where the incident happened, said the junction box had been posing risks for some time, adding that he had complained about the leakage before. 

Emre Metin, a representative from Turkey’s Chamber of Electricity Engineers, said such boxes needed maintenance in every three months. 

“If there is a leakage, there is negligence,” Metin told Milliyet, adding that high voltage boxes should be kept behind cages to keep citizens away. The leakage was probably exacerbated by the rain, he also said. 

Beyza Metin, the head of the chamber’s Istanbul branch, said junction boxes were often placed dangerously in the open air in Anatolian cities, unlike in Istanbul where they are underground. 

Representatives from Osmangazi Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş., the company responsible for the junction box that killed Pekuslu, said no leakage had been detected, claiming that some eyewitnesses had said the young man was struck by a lightning.