Family says 10-year-old boy electrocuted in Yangon township

A 10-year-old was electrocuted on Tuesday evening in Hlaing Township, according to local media, making him the latest fatality in a spate of incidents that have alarmed city residents.

Myat Ko Ko was said to be coming back from private school when he slipped into a drain and grabbed an electric cable to try and stop from falling. 

U Kyaw Min, a grandfather of the victim, Myat Ko Ko, confirmed the death in an interview with Eleven.

“He is just 10 years old, he is going to attend Grade 5,” he was quoted as saying, adding that the local electricity department claims he drowned. 

However, an officer from Hlaing Township reportedly told Eleven that results from a local doctor showed the 10-year-old’s left toes, left hand and left elbows were burnt.

Contact information for local officials in Hlaing was not available.

A photo of the cable (see above) was posted on social media, and a post about the incident by citizen journalist Lwin Oo has been shared hundreds of times.

Since rains started in May, police say electrocutions have occurred almost daily, and that there have been 50 cases. According to the Voice, there were 100 cases of electrocution in Yangon in 2015, meaning we are already on track to surpass the grim figure this year.

Most of them have to do with shoddy construction and broken cables.

Three people were electrocuted in Yangon on the same day late last month, including a 16-year-old worker who stepped in a puddle on Bogyoke Road across the street from the Sakura Tower and the Sule Shangri-La Hotel.

The wires were removed from the pole a few days later and as of Sunday there appear to be new electricity installations in place.

Subscribe to the WTF is Up in Southeast Asia + Hong Kong podcast to get our take on the top trending news and pop culture from the region every Thursday!



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on