Teen dead following train engine electrocution
A teenage boy died on Wednesday evening after being electrocuted when he climbed up on the engine of a train in Uddevalla in western Sweden.
The accident happened around 6pm shortly before the boy, a native of Halden in Norway, and his traveling companions were due to switch trains.
The boy was a member of a traveling swim team.
“He climbed up on the train so that a friend could take a picture of him. When the friend moved back to take the picture he heard how it started to sizzle up on the engine. When he turned he saw his friend being electrocuted,” police spokesperson Björ Blixter told the TT news agency.
The boy then fell lifeless to the ground.
Eight friends between the ages of 13- and 17-years-old witnessed the accident and were taken to the hospital in Uddevalla in a state of shock.
The boy was still alive when an ambulance arrived to take him to hospital. But around 8pm in the evening the hospital announced the boy had died.
The engine was not in service at the time of the incident.
“It’s extremely dangerous and strictly prohibited to climb on engines and carriages. It happens on average a few times a year that someone, usually a young person, dies or is seriously injured in these types of accidents,” said Bodil Sonesson, a spokesperson with the Swedish Rail Administration (Banverket), to TT.
“All it takes is to be close to a live cable for an accident to happen. The cables carry 16,000 volts and can create electrical arcs which can travel; you don’t have to be in direct contact with the cable.”
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The accident happened around 6pm shortly before the boy, a native of Halden in Norway, and his traveling companions were due to switch trains.
The boy was a member of a traveling swim team.
“He climbed up on the train so that a friend could take a picture of him. When the friend moved back to take the picture he heard how it started to sizzle up on the engine. When he turned he saw his friend being electrocuted,” police spokesperson Björ Blixter told the TT news agency.
The boy then fell lifeless to the ground.
Eight friends between the ages of 13- and 17-years-old witnessed the accident and were taken to the hospital in Uddevalla in a state of shock.
The boy was still alive when an ambulance arrived to take him to hospital. But around 8pm in the evening the hospital announced the boy had died.
The engine was not in service at the time of the incident.
“It’s extremely dangerous and strictly prohibited to climb on engines and carriages. It happens on average a few times a year that someone, usually a young person, dies or is seriously injured in these types of accidents,” said Bodil Sonesson, a spokesperson with the Swedish Rail Administration (Banverket), to TT.
“All it takes is to be close to a live cable for an accident to happen. The cables carry 16,000 volts and can create electrical arcs which can travel; you don’t have to be in direct contact with the cable.”
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