This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/merseyside/8192562.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Teenage boy dies at railway depot | Teenage boy dies at railway depot |
(about 2 hours later) | |
A 13-year-old boy has died at a railway maintenance site in Liverpool, after apparently being electrocuted by an overhead power line. | |
British Transport Police were called to the depot in Allerton at 1700 BST on Sunday after reports that three youths had been seen inside. | |
Ch Supt Peter Holden said the dead boy had climbed on top of a disused train. The others had both suffered burns. | |
Officers are now investigating how the youths gained access to the site. | |
The scene has been cordoned off while the investigation is carried out and the boy's family have been informed. | |
'25,000 volts' | |
Ch Supt Holden said it was "an extremely tragic incident". | |
"Three youths had been seen within the maintenance depot, and it would appear that they'd accessed the roof of a train that was in storage - so a disused train if you like - and unfortunately come into close contact with the overhead electrical lines," he told BBC Radio 5Live. | |
"It would appear that one of these has arced, resulting in the regrettable and unfortunate fatality of the 13-year-old youth. | |
The depot covers a large area with a large amount of perimeter fencing Ch Supt Peter HoldenBritish Transport Police | |
"The overhead cable carries 25,000 volts of electricity and quite clearly when someone comes into close proximity the current can arc across." | |
The chief superintendent said there were fences and warning signs around the site, which is used to store freight trains, and it was "as secure as it can be". | |
"The depot covers a large area with a large amount of perimeter fencing," he said. | |
"Because it's such a large area it wouldn't necessarily follow that these people would be easily detected once they'd gone into the depot. | |
"It's a large environment to fence off, but, obviously, the fences are there to keep people out." | |
The two other youths are now being treated in hospital for superficial burns that are not thought to be life-threatening. | |
Ch Supt Holden said his colleagues did a lot of work in the Merseyside area to try to educate schoolchildren about the dangers of the railway environment. |