An attempt by an unidentified young man to steal an armoured cable from a transformer in the Mgboaba/NTA area of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State ended in tragedy as he was electrocuted in the act.

The man was said to have gone for the operation at about 3 am on Thursday near a popular new generation church when there was a blackout in the area but was trapped when the power supply was restored.

An eyewitness who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity said the man was severely burnt with his body turned black, noting that they heard a loud sound at the transformer as soon as the power supply was restored.

He said, “It was around 3am when the transformer sparked with a loud sound. We thought it was the normal sound we hear sometimes.

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“But in the morning, when I was going to work, we heard that somebody who went to cut an armoured cable died inside the transformer.

“So, I and some people went there and saw the dead body. All his body was burnt like charcoal.”

Another eyewitness who gave his name as Chika said the man was well-known within the area. According to him, “He used to sell water to people around this area.”

Our correspondent gathered that the man’s remains were removed by the police and officials of the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company after the residents alerted them to the incident later that day.

When contacted, spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she would find out from the Divisional Police Officer and get back to our correspondent.

Iringe-Koko, a Superintendent of Police, had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report on Thursday evening.