Venezuelan electrocuted at Marabella worksite

- File photo

A 19-year-old Venezuelan is believed to have died by electrocution while on a jobsite in Marabella on the afternoon of December 3.

Jose Gregory Herrera, of St Julien Village in Princes Town, was declared dead at 5.28 pm while receiving medical care at the Southern Medical Clinic.

He would have turned 20 on December 29.

According to the police, the tragedy struck at around 4.30 pm on December 3 when Herrera attempted to unplug a jack-hammer connected to an extension cord on the compound of Tropical Plaza, along the Southern Main Road, Marabella.

The police said he was doing remedial work for Persad’s D Food King supermarket.

Having suffered an apparent electrical shock, the teen fell on his back and was semi-conscious.

A co-worker from La Lune Village in Moruga and a representative from the supermarket took Herrera to the clinic, where he was later pronounced dead.

Marabella police were alerted, and PCs Mitchell and Diefenthaller were among the first responders.

DMO Dr Santlal ordered that the body be removed to the mortuary of the San Fernando Mortuary, pending a post-mortem at the Forensic Science Centre in St James.

Cpl Ramdath is leading the investigation.

Calls to the supermarket for comments went unanswered.