General News of Sunday, 5 December 2010

Source: Daily Guide

Electric Tapper Falls Dead

A 28-YEAR-OLD electrician apprentice was reported dead after falling from an electric pole at Lomnava near Tabora, a suburb of Accra.

The dead electrical technician was allegedly contracted by the proprietress of Hentra Pharmacy to fix an electrical problem on the pole.

The deceased, whose name was given as Gideon Yeboah Darti, according to residents, fixed electrical faults and repaired electrical appliances for residents of the area on commercial basis.

According to an eyewitness, Adu Sarpong, on the morning of November 27, the proprietress of Hentra Pharmacy, Lomnava Last Stop, South Ofankor, contracted Darti to check on the cable connections on an electric pole adjacent to her house, which had affected the lighting system in her house.

According to Sarpong, not long after he had climbed the pole, Gideon fell flat, with blood oozing from the ears and nostrils.

The proprietress quickly rushed the young man to the 37 Military Hospital where she works as a doctor. But he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE at the family residence at Capital Hill, a Lomnava suburb, Dorcia Korkor, Gideon’s mother, said she was at Sefwi attending to family matters when she received a call from her sister, informing her that her son had fallen from an electric pole.

Due to the tragic news she received, Madam Korkor said she rushed back home the next day, being Saturday, only to be told that her son had died shortly after being rushed to the hospital.

“I could not believe the news because this was a healthy son into whose care I entrusted the home, but here I am: the pillar of my family is gone. Gideon, my security and ‘breadwinner’ has been killed.”

She said she had been denied access to her son’s remains and to make matters worse, Korkor said the doctor had not even called the family to commiserate with them.

She said she had reported the case to the Mile 7 Police so as to have the police investigate the incident.

On his part, Kakra, Gideon’s bosom friend, told DAILY GUIDE that he was with the deceased at their (Gideon’s) residence when he received a phone call from the doctor and proprietress of Hentra Pharmacy, entreating him to attend to an emergency at her residence.

Initially, Gideon declined to go because he did not want to leave his disabled dad while his mother had travelled, but after persistent phone calls from the woman, Gideon entreated him (Kakra) to stay by his dad while he attended to the woman.

He said in less than three hours after Gideon had left, news got to him that his friend had fallen from an electric pole and had been rushed to the 37 Military Hospital.

According to Kakra, the doctor and her relations later reported the tragedy to Gideon’s family, after she had deposited the body at the 37 Military Hospital morgue.

Kakra said it was not easy for him and the nephew of Gideon, Yaw Akoto, to interpret matters to Gideon’s dad, who is deaf.

When DAILY GUIDE contacted the proprietress at her pharmacy, she declined to speak, adding that she preferred to remain silent over the incident.

When contacted, the Mile 7 Police Station confirmed the incident and said they were still investigating the tragedy.