Man Killed, Four Other Family Members Injured in Incident Related to the Israeli Siege of Gaza Strip

Blackouts behind latest power-related death in Gaza

Published today (updated) 13/05/2010 10:26

Gaza – Ma'an –

An electricity generator exploded in an Al-Sha’ut neighborhood home north of the Rafah refugee camp on Thursday morning, killing one man and injuring 4 others, medics said.

At the Abu Yousif Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, medics said Walid Taha, 23, was pronounced dead on arrival, while four of his family members were undergoing treatment for moderate and critical injuries.

The explosion took place just moments after Taha's father turned on the generator following one of the regular periods of blackouts that continue to plague the Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday, a Rafah man was killed when a generator exploded during repairs. The deaths are the latest in a series of what the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs calls generator- related accidents, stemming from "the protracted electricity crisis,[and resulting] reliance on portable generators."

During the month of April, two accidents resulted in the injury of at least ten people, with 2009 casualties listed as 17 dead and 62 injured in similar accidents.

Note:

People have resorted to generators due to the blackouts resulting from the Israeli siege of the Gaza Strip, which causes such blackouts, as the only power station there does not get enough repair parts or enough fuel.

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