Man electrocuted at Ladyville work site

Three days of rain have been an irritant to many Belizeans, but today all that water was a key factor in a man’s death, as a worker toiling in a flooded ditch was electrocuted in Ladyville. Details are sketchy, but we are informed that Marlon Smith, an employee of Jones Cooling and Power, was installing a grounding system at a new B.T.L. cellular site near the Love FM tower. The ditch in which he was laying the cable was flooded from recent rains and was being pumped out. Reports conflict, but it appears that a live electric wire, either from the pump or another source, became exposed to the water, delivering a strong shock to Smith. He was brought to the B.D.F. Hospital in Ladyville and is believed to have died in the ambulance during his transfer to Belize City.