A Cape Town electricity official has died 12 days after being injured while trying to fix cables damaged by theft and vandalism.

A council statement on Saturday said Terence Stringer died in hospital from injuries he sustained when severely vandalised cables in Gugulethu exploded.

Stringer, four contractors and a member of the public were injured when the insulation of the damaged cables deteriorated and caused an explosion, the city said.

The technicians were attending to a medium voltage cable that had been excavated and set alight by criminals at the Gugulethu substation on April 4. The damage  left Gugulethu and Manenberg without electricity.

Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for energy, Beverley van Reenen, said: “It is utterly devastating that a colleague’s life has been lost due to the impact of infrastructure vandalism while in the line of duty.

“The city has lost a valuable staff member and our thoughts are with his wife and family.”

Stringer joined the city council in 1993 and was one of the first employees at the Gugulethu electricity depot shortly after it was constructed.

Source: TimesLIVE