Brit expat dead in Phuket from suspected garden electric shock

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Brit expat dead in Phuket from suspected garden electric shock

Eakkapop Thongtub

 

Police suspect Mr Wilkinson suffered an electric shock from leakage from the power meter in front of the house. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

 

PHUKET: -- Police are investigating the death of an Brit expat in Phuket after he was found collapsed in his home’s garden yesterday (April 6) from a suspected electric shock.

 

Chalong Police and rescue workers were called to the house, in Soi Sungthong, Rawai, at 3:31pm.

 

At the scene they found Englishman Paul Wilkinson, 55, lying unconscious and unresponsive in a garden bed on the inside of small fence wall. On the other side of the wall was the electricity-supply meter for the house, with a jumble of connected wires hanging underneath.

 

Mr Wilkinson was rushed to the Accident & Emergency Department of the still-under-construction Chalong Hospital while rescue workers performed CPR. However, after his arrival, hospital doctors were unsuccessful in their attempts to revive him. Mr Wilkinson’s body was taken to Vachira Hospital.

 

Full story: http://www.thephuketnews.com/brit-expat-dead-in-phuket-from-suspected-garden-electric-shock-61703.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2017-04-07

[NCC1701A]

“We believe that electrical leakage from the power meter box could have somehow made it through or under the corner of the wall. Mr Wilkinson might have touched the wall while he was gardening,”

 

since when does a concrete wall conduct electricity?

 

" ...electricity-supply meter for the house, with a jumble of connected wires hanging underneath."

 

How is this different than anywhere else?

 

RIP.

 

 

 

Edited April 7, 2017 by NCC1701A

[worgeordie]

I wonder how many people die unnecessarily ,every year from Electric shocks

I suspect the rainy season will be the peak in deaths,with low hanging and

live wires ,connections wrapped with a plastic bag,lying on the wet ground.

I think Thai's  Mae pen rai ,view on electricity is because they cannot see it, 

so why worry about it, RIP fellow countryman,

regards worgeordie

[ThaiKneeTim]

1 hour ago, NCC1701A said:

“We believe that electrical leakage from the power meter box could have somehow made it through or under the corner of the wall. Mr Wilkinson might have touched the wall while he was gardening,”

 

since when does a concrete wall conduct electricity?

 

" ...electricity-supply meter for the house, with a jumble of connected wires hanging underneath."

 

How is this different than anywhere else?

 

RIP.

 

 

 

Concrete will conduct very well if there is even a hint of dampness. The ground is a reasonably good conducter, the conductivity varies according to the geology, when it's high resistance we improve conductivity with earth or ground wires. In my home region the ground is very sandy so doesn't hold moisture, therefore an array of earth wires, or ground mat, it used to lower resistance. 

Never underestimate the importance of the ground wire on electricalsystems and appliances. 

[jollyhangmon]

43 minutes ago, ThaiKneeTim said:

Concrete will conduct very well if there is even a hint of dampness. The ground is a reasonably good conducter, the conductivity varies according to the geology, when it's high resistance we improve conductivity with earth or ground wires. In my home region the ground is very sandy so doesn't hold moisture, therefore an array of earth wires, or ground mat, it used to lower resistance. 

Never underestimate the importance of the ground wire on electricalsystems and appliances. 

Exactly!

And those 'jumbles of connected wires hanging underneath' fairly everywhere are more than suspicious to me, especially in wet conditions - no matter if direct contact or not really.

Actually i'm surprised there aren't much more related incidents ... 

 

RIP man, it's a cryin' shame!

[stevenl]

He was a friend of a friend. And according to that friend he was working on the electricity when he was shocked.

[clockman]

Another reason, not trust these people. Water and electricity and lack of safety..

[elgordo38]

3 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

“We believe that electrical leakage from the power meter box could have somehow made it through or under the corner of the wall. Mr Wilkinson might have touched the wall while he was gardening,”

 

since when does a concrete wall conduct electricity?

 

" ...electricity-supply meter for the house, with a jumble of connected wires hanging underneath."

 

How is this different than anywhere else?

 

RIP.

 

 

 

Why do you think Thailand has so much well claim to have money in the treasury??

[TheFishman1]

No here but elsewhere if the electric company at fault they pay compensation here that's not the case TIT

[hocuspocus]

5 minutes ago, TheFishman1 said:

No here but elsewhere if the electric company at fault they pay compensation here that's not the case TIT

I was going to wire my own new house, then I read about the new electrical regulations so I decided that I would have to hire a Thai electrician but will it be any safer if a Thai electrician does the work? Probably less safe.

[kiwikeith]

3 hours ago, worgeordie said:

I wonder how many people die unnecessarily ,every year from Electric shocks

I suspect the rainy season will be the peak in deaths,with low hanging and

live wires ,connections wrapped with a plastic bag,lying on the wet ground.

I think Thai's  Mae pen rai ,view on electricity is because they cannot see it, 

so why worry about it, RIP fellow countryman,

regards worgeordie

 

At the Kings park in Hua Hin their are wires around the place that children can touch.

Badly in need of a tidy up as well as the roads.

[Godang]

We have appliances that should be earthed but my lady says not a problem in Thailand, luckily the shower and aircon have been earthed.

[Udo Zickler]

How long Thai worker learn to make a good job as an electrician? 3 weeks? In Germany they need 3 1/2 years to get a license for this job. I see the wiring every day on streets, in houses and shops. The most of the electric units are not grounded, no RCB's, nothing. That's horrible. R.I.P. Paul.

Gesendet von meinem SM-J710F mit Tapatalk

[jollyhangmon]

21 minutes ago, Godang said:

We have appliances that should be earthed but my lady says not a problem in Thailand, luckily the shower and aircon have been earthed.

Well, go and check for yourself, friend, no kidding!

 

Some time ago i noticed an earth-cable from a neighbors shower-heater had rotted/rusted away in less than a year because it was ridiculously thin.

Of course i told them ... when i moved out another year (!) later it was still not replaced - dead men walking!  

 

You also can't fix stupid ... only Darwinism can. 

 

Edited April 7, 2017 by jollyhangmon

[Felt 35]

1 hour ago, kiwikeith said:

 

At the Kings park in Hua Hin their are wires around the place that children can touch.

Badly in need of a tidy up as well as the roads.

I think and hope they do something with it these days. I spotted a cable along parts of the park partly digged down a few days ago.

[oldgent]

seen a situation up in a village in Burriram  where the wires on the pole exploded in wet weather.

was invited to stay with a lady in her parents house which did not have a proper shower, so i bought

a new electric shower and had it installed by a local Electrician good job i did found out all sockets, 

lights, came from the same connection no fuses or earth.

[Gold Star]

1 hour ago, hocuspocus said:

I was going to wire my own new house, then I read about the new electrical regulations so I decided that I would have to hire a Thai electrician but will it be any safer if a Thai electrician does the work? Probably less safe.

Just recently had our entire house rewired by a team of 'qualiified' Thai electricians. 2 days of work, and then 3 days of subsequent rework before I would pay them.  Anything hidden out of sight will be done dangerously wrong.

[antoniuni]

1 hour ago, Godang said:

We have appliances that should be earthed but my lady says not a problem in Thailand, luckily the shower and aircon have been earthed.

HOW???????????????

 

[realenglish1]

Osha does not exist here in Thailand . They don't give a rats ((*& what happens after installation

 

I never read about someone being electrocuted in the west where the fault is the result of the contractor or government installation

 

Here no one cares or checks   

[williamgeorgeallen]

i checked out a friends new house, all connections were twisted and taped in the roof. that tape comes off after time especially in a hot roof cavity. no earths any where. brand new house. just another reason not to buy anything in thailand. those hot water units make me nervous as well.

[Rayscape]

I recently lifted my boat out. So the boatyard supplied the power line. I plugged it in, but when I stepped down from the boat to the ground, I got whacked with 180 volts! I know that because I measured it! They had wired the supply cable back to front, the whole boat was live. But we are not allowed to do this ourselves, unless we have a special Thai work permit, which specifies that job!!! Impossible. As someone said, no training, and in general, have little to no idea!!

[SiSePuede419]

When I first stayed in Thailand, the apartment had the ground shorted to the neutral.  I offered to help fix it, but the landlady declined my offer.  

 

Smart Thai Landlord not need help from Stupid renter.  I'm sure it boiled down to just that. ?

Edited April 7, 2017 by SiSePuede419

[Catkiwi]

2 hours ago, hocuspocus said:

I was going to wire my own new house, then I read about the new electrical regulations so I decided that I would have to hire a Thai electrician but will it be any safer if a Thai electrician does the work? Probably less safe.

Some good, most bad in my experience. If you have a basic knowlege of wireing, earthing etc let them do the work but check and circuit test every step.

[toofarnorth]

Just today at the hotel nearby myself and a mate were swimming and 3 Burmese ( well they weren't speaking Thai ) were fixing a lamp for under the water , how many volts these are I don't know , the cable coming out of the pool to the lamp was thick and had other tape wrapped round it . The same guys are often seen sweeping the lawns . We got out of the water before some one decided it was time to plug it in and switch it on.

Would it of surprised anyone on TV to read  " 2 ferlung got electrocuted in a swimming pool in Maechan , a faulty lamp was likely the cause ? " 

[Elkski]

RIP.     

[overherebc]

1 hour ago, toofarnorth said:

Just today at the hotel nearby myself and a mate were swimming and 3 Burmese ( well they weren't speaking Thai ) were fixing a lamp for under the water , how many volts these are I don't know , the cable coming out of the pool to the lamp was thick and had other tape wrapped round it . The same guys are often seen sweeping the lawns . We got out of the water before some one decided it was time to plug it in and switch it on.

Would it of surprised anyone on TV to read  " 2 ferlung got electrocuted in a swimming pool in Maechan , a faulty lamp was likely the cause ? " 

They 'should' be 24v max, but!!!!

[Foozool]

Stepping on a hot ground won't kill anyone unless the electricity flows through body by touching a better conductive than the ground of that spot. 

Otherwise all birds would be dead. 

He was definitely doing somethings with wires.

 

Rest In Peace.

[Elkski]

Look at those prunning clippers on the wall... wire cutters?  it said he was found inside near the small wall?  SO he was reaching through the wall?  IF he had on rubber boots and he only used one hand then he would be ok.. but if using both hands then the path can go through the heart... even one hand can ground the the damp wall but then only burns arm...

Overall so sad... I prefer USA 120v and we have such smart quick acting breakers here. 

By the way many older pool lights are full voltage 120v here in USA but the circuit breakers are very good and of course everything grounded.   Now that LED are used I imagine 12-24 v is used. 

[Balance]

Looks to me that the installation shown would pass any Thai electrical code inspection.  

 

Things won't change until the liability laws change. Mai pben rai translates as "No one is responsible for anything."

 

 

 

[Formaleins]

3 hours ago, Gold Star said:

Just recently had our entire house rewired by a team of 'qualiified' Thai electricians. 2 days of work, and then 3 days of subsequent rework before I would pay them.  Anything hidden out of sight will be done dangerously wrong.

Junction boxes left open, conduit not closed, every single join that is out of site stuck together with insulating tape.....right on, bunch of bodgers! They left my place after a wiring job with 120V on the meter, they had shorted out some of the lives, they wouldn't have it until I took a meter over to the main incoming supply where we had 230V, they had crossed the wires!