A man died from electrocution late this Wednesday morning (12), when he tried to steal cables on Rua Almirante Alexandrino, in Santa Teresa, in the central region of Rio. Due to the electrical discharge, the body was left hanging from the wiring .

According to initial information, the man lost his balance, received a shock and was left hanging by his legs, 6 meters from the ground.

According to the Military Police, PMs from the 5th BPM (Center) were called to an incident of attempted theft of cables. According to the unit command, a man suffered an electric shock and died at the scene.

The Fire Department reported that it was called at 6:23 am to save the man. However, when soldiers from the Central Headquarters arrived at the scene, the victim was already dead. The body will be removed and sent to the Legal Medical Institute (IML) in the center of Rio.

Light reported that it was not necessary to interrupt the energy supply in the region.

However, the Santa Teresa Tram reported that it had temporarily suspended transport operations due to the man's death. According to the system administration, "the power grid will be disconnected due to improper access to electrical installations."

The case was registered at the 7th DP (Santa Teresa). In a statement, the Civil Police said that they carried out an investigation at the scene and that efforts are underway to determine the circumstances of the death.

A survey shows that the theft of power cables in RJ increased in 2023. According to Light, Rio's energy concessionaire, last year alone more than 16 thousand meters of wires were stolen in the Metropolitan Region, a size that is equivalent to 4 laps along the Copacabana waterfront , South Zone of the city.

The increase was 160% compared to the same period in 2022. That year, 6 thousand meters were stolen.

The North Zone leads the ranking of cable thefts. Tijuca registered 94 cases, followed by Barra da Tijuca and Recreio dos Bandeirantes , in the West Zone, with 80 and 45 occurrences, respectively.