A 23-year-old craftsman trainee of the T&T Electricity Commission was electrocuted while working yesterday on the Eastern Main Road in Tunapuna. Police said Richie Rivers, of Guaynabo Estate in Rio Claro, fell 20 feet to the ground after electricity surged through his body while working near Food Masters. Rivers joined the commission as a trainee in November 2009. He had been assigned to the Distribution East area in the second year of a three-year training programme. Police said at around 10.30 am Rivers and a co-worker climbed the pole to change two transformers when the incident occurred.
Rivers was taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex where he died while undergoing medical treatment. Detectives said his fellow co-workers were distraught after the incident considering that "it would be a normal day's work." Tunapuna police are continuing investigations. In a release, T&TEC stated the commission was saddened by the death of Rivers' death. Rivers was in the process of changing a pole-mounted transformer when a sudden flare erupted.
The exact cause of Rivers' death is not yet known and T&TEC has formed an internal investigative team, inclusive of a representative of the OWTU to probe the incident, the release said. Senior members of the commission immediately went to the hospital to provide support for Rivers' family. T&TEC advised the family all funeral and related expenses will be covered. They will provide counselling to staff members, the crew on site at the time of the incident and the trainee's relatives.