Electrocuted: Pietermaritzburg father dies after hitting live wire with spade - IOL

A Pietermaritzburg father of three died after he allegedly came into contact with a live wire while clearing a plot in Dunveria, Northdale, on Friday. 

At the time, Jeremy Naidoo, 32, was retrenched and doing odd jobs to support his family.

He died after he hit a live wire with his spade while cleaning his friend’s yard.

Jeremy’s father Rajen Naidoo said his son had left home at around 11.30am with his friend to clean the plot of land.

Naidoo, 64, said an hour and a half after Jeremy had left home, a security guard went to his home and told him that his son had died, with no further explanation.

“The guard showed me a photograph of my son lying on the ground. He asked me if that was my son. 

“I did not have my glasses on to see very clearly, but I saw his hairstyle and his face. I recognised that it was my son.

“I rushed to the scene and was told that he was dead. The police did not want to let me anywhere near his body, and I was told that I could not touch him,” said Naidoo.

“I saw the spade lying next to his body. Police said that they were investigating his death, and it is believed that while he was digging in the yard he hit a live wire.

“We do not know any other details and will wait for the police investigation to confirm what happened,” Naidoo added.

He said when Jeremy’s twin brother got the news, he became sick and displayed stroke-like symptoms.

“We then had to rush my other son to the hospital. My sons shared a close bond. We are a close-knit family. We cannot cope with Jeremy’s death. 

“Jeremy was a hard working person. He was retrenched from his job at a restaurant about three weeks ago, and he was doing odd jobs to support his three daughters, aged four, seven, and 11.

“His two younger daughters still cannot fully understand what it means when we tell them that their daddy is gone to heaven, but his 11-year-old daughter understands and is distraught.

“We keep telling her that daddy is gone to God, and she knows that he is not coming back. Never in my wildest dreams did we ever expect this. Every day I ask the Lord to cover my children but God has his own plans,” Rajen added.

Naidoo’s funeral is expected to take place later this week.