Girl, 3, Dies After Stepping on Abandoned High-Tension Wire in Anambra

A three-year-old girl was electrocuted on Saturday, May 24, 2025, after stepping on a fallen high-tension cable in the Isaiah Morah Close area of Awka, the Anambra State capital. The cable, reportedly belonging to the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), had collapsed the previous day and remained unrepaired despite multiple calls for intervention.

Residents of the area revealed that officials of the electricity company were contacted immediately after the cable fell, but allegedly demanded N30,000 before any repairs could be made. Despite the payment, the cable was not fixed until two days later—after the tragic death of the child.

Eyewitnesses said the little girl had been returning from a nearby compound where she had gone to fetch water when she unknowingly stepped on the live wire. She lived with her mother and other tenants in a partially constructed and abandoned building on the street.

“The incident was posted on our WhatsApp group and a team from the power company was sent to respond,” a resident identified as Uche recounted. “But they couldn’t locate the place. They returned to their office without resolving the issue.”

The child was rushed to Awka Medical Centre at Udoka gate after being pulled from the cable by horrified residents, but she was pronounced dead on arrival.