A cable thief fell from the top of a utility pole after being zapped by a high-voltage power line.
The crook reached the top of the pole using a ladder.
He tried to cut a cable with a tool as a woman watched on from the road below.
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Then the crook let go of the cable he had been fiddling with.
As he went to stand up, a bright flash was seen as he made contact with a live wire.
He immediately went stiff and fell from the top of the pole, colliding with a street light on his way down.
Shocking footage shows the man landing on the tarmac with a thud as the person filming mutters coldly: “He died.”
The horrified woman ran towards his slumped body as the footage ended.
The horror unfolded on Thursday (13 Mar) morning in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The cable thief was knocked unconscious by the high-voltage shock and local media say he was assisted by a nearby security agent.
His condition is unclear, but viewers believe it is likely he died from either the electric shock or the fall.
Cable theft is a recurring problem in Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere in Brazil, as reported by Need To Know.
In 2023, more than 5.4m metres of telecom cables were stolen throughout the country, according to data from Conexis Brasil Digital.
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