Teen dies after touching electrified Roxas City fence

By Felipe V. Celino

ROXAS CITY, Capiz — A 17-year-old girl died after reportedly coming into contact with an electrified barbed-wire fence Saturday afternoon, Aug. 1, in Barangay Dumolog.

Police identified the victim only as alias Angel, a senior high school student from New Road in Barangay Banica.

Investigators said the girl was passing through the area after a brief jog at the beach.

Police said she apparently did not know that electricity was running through the barbed-wire fence.

The victim was sitting on a concrete bench beneath the fence when she reportedly came into contact with it and was electrocuted.

Former Barangay Dumolog Chairman Richard Mario Artillero, one of the first people to respond, said he had detected electricity in the fence before the incident.

Artillero said the fence had no warning sign or other safety device.

He said he immediately informed the property’s caretaker about the suspected electrical hazard.

Artillero said the caretaker denied that electricity was leaking into the barbed-wire fence.

He said he was shocked when he later learned that someone had been electrocuted.

Artillero asked the caretaker to disconnect the electricity in the hope that the victim could still be saved, but she was already unresponsive.

Responders declared the girl dead at the scene.

The victim’s family blamed the property owner for the allegedly electrified fence.

The Roxas City Police Station is investigating the incident to determine the circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death and whether anyone may be held liable.