JEDDAH, 4 August — Three people, including a six-year-old girl, died of electric shock in Rabigh, 155 km from here, recently. Relatives and friends blamed electric posts with exposed wires and poor maintenance for the deaths.
Hussein Saleh Omar, father of the girl, told Arab News that he would take legal action against Rabigh Municipality for causing the death of his daughter.
Preliminary investigation by security authorities found that the three died of direct contact with electric current from the exposed wire which extended from the base of an electric post to the road.
The first man died after direct contact with the electric wire, an informed source said. The second, a cleaning worker, died while spraying water in a garden in the area. The girl died while playing in the Corniche.
Police have started questioning maintenance officials of Rabigh Municipality and found that the three died because of poor maintenance of public utilities.
According to an official report issued by the municipality last month, it had completed maintenance of electric posts, especially in the Corniche area where the girl died.
The source said there was sheer negligence on the part of maintenance officials.
Authorities quickly disconnected power supply from the electric post and removed the exposed electric wire from the road.
