More than R500 000-worth of damage was caused to underground electricity cables when two men hacked into a live cable in an alleged attempt to steal the copper cable in Kensington, Cape Town, the chairperson of the metal-theft task team said on Thursday.
The men aged, aged 20 and 54, dug a trench about 2m deep and used a chisel to hack open the 132 000-volt cable, which set off an explosion last week.
“They are very lucky to be alive,” said Pieter van Dalen, chairperson of the City of Cape Town’s non-ferrous-metal theft task team, also known as the Copperheads.
Both men suffered serious burn wounds. They will be arrested pending their discharge from hospital.
Investigations revealed that one of them was on parole at the time of the incident, said van Dalen.
“People who resort to this kind of criminal activity not only gamble with their own lives, but also negatively affect the quality of life of hundreds of other families. The money the city now has to spend on repairs could have been better used in providing much-needed services to the community,” he said. — Sapa
The public can report any suspicious activity to the city’s 24-hour cable-theft hot line on Tel: 0800 222 771 or 021 400 1947