By Haddy Touray
An expert in electricity and electrical installation has described the electrocution incident that occurred at Kerr Galo in Lower Nuimi District last week as unfortunate incident that could have been avoided if safety precautions were put in place.
The expert, who has more than 30 years of experience in the electricity sector, observed that the seven deceased, who were working on a low voltage line, could have alerted Nawec to put-off the high voltage line they were working close to, hinting that this safety precaution was not adhered to by the workers of KEI Electrical Company at the time of erecting a low voltage line under a high voltage line.
His observations followed growing concern among Gambians yet to find answers as to why this incident occured at Kerr Galo at a time when both Nawec, KEI Electrical Company or BB Electrical Company failed to disclose the real reason behind the catastrophe.
“It’s very unfortunate that we lost seven precious lives in such a tragic circumstance and I believe this is the biggest number of deaths registered in this country as far as electricity installation is concerned. If you are working on a low voltage that is beneath a high voltage line, you need to put off the high voltage line but unfortunately, this was not done,” the expert disclosed to The Voice.
“These deceased souls were erecting new polls underneath a line with 33,000 volts and when you are closer to this high voltage line for about one meter and 40cm, it will automatically draw the pole to the line. When you are closer to the high voltage line more than the minimum electromagnetic distance, it will attract the pole and by the time of the incident, the boys were holding the pole leading to their death,” our interlocutor added.
The expert observed that the death of the other four people came at a time when they were trying to rescue their three electrocuted colleagues, noting that the rescuers instead of using sticks or woods to separate the deceased from the pole, they came physically to recover the deaths from the pole, leading to more fatalities.
He emphasized that though it was a very unfortunate incident but care could have been taken to alert Nawec to put off the high voltage line because of the dangers associated with working closer to it, noting that the field supervisor should have been the one to call officials of his company [BB Electrical] to inform Nawec operators to put off the high voltage line before they start any work on the new poles they were trying to erect.
“You cannot work on these types of lines running under high voltage lines without putting it off otherwise the result is always catastrophic. For me, I don’t want to blame the company nor the boys [electricians]. Of course, it’s unfortunate but avoidable,” the expert further told The Voice.
The Voice also made attempts to talk to KEI Electrical Company, through their representative BB Electrical, to shed light on the circumstances, leading to the loss of the seven electricians but to no avail.
However, this medium spoke with one Fatou Darboe, a resident of Bakau who is also a relative of one of the victims. She said the electrical company did not disclose the cause of the death of the seven workers to their family.
She hinted that the family “is currently engaged” in series of consultations among themselves to find a way out of the situation, adding her family “is in great shock and mourning the death of two precious souls, who died in the Kerr Galo incident.
