Three dogs died in less than 24-hours in the Lisbon area, after being electrocuted on wet pavements.
All three were walking close to street lighting when they died.
With owners in shock – and one stressing “it could have been a child” – news reports confirm that this situation “raises serious doubts on the security of public infrastructure in the metropolitan area of Lisbon”.
For now, E-Redes (the country’s electricity distribution company) is investigating, complaints has been filed with police/ public prosecutors – and the dogs’ carcasses are to be autopsied.
The electrocutions happened on November 14/ 15, after a certain amount of rain, but not in the rain. In common was ‘contact with wet areas near street lighting’.
The first incident in Patameiras, Odivelas involved pets Luna and Ozzy, whose owner Soraia Silva took advantage of a break in the rain to take what she thought would be a ‘routine walk’.
It was when she passed a children’s playground “currently surrounded by council building work” that four-month-old Ozzy let out a yelp, and fell lifeless to the ground. Seconds later, Luna, a heavier, older dog, followed.
Soraia Silva has been understandably traumatised by the experience, and does not feel that the council response in taping off the area is sufficient.
“The area is not completely protected. We should be able to walk in public spaces in safety”, she told Diário de Notícias. “We cannot be left in a minefield. This is a public garden now transformed into a carpark due to the building works, with a lot of people passing by. My dogs died, but it could so easily have been a child”.
The following evening a similar horror befell another family pet which walked through a puddle in Parque das Nações.
According to a report by local firefighters, the dog “received an electrical discharge of approximately 117 volts”. She “tried to get up, but ended up collapsing, lifeless”.
At this point the street light was apparently ‘steaming’. By the time the dog’s owner arrived at the scene, the street light had gone out, albeit the others in the area were all still working.
As DN explains, the dogs’ owners are all demanding explanations. In Odivelas, maintenance of the street lights falls to E-Redes, but in Lisbon as a whole, it is the City Council that is responsible “from the moment the energy reaches equipment”.
The two street lights in question have since been ‘taken out of service’.
E-Redes has stressed that “any liabilities found will be assumed by the company. E-Redes works daily to ensure the safe distribution of electricity,” assured an official source from the company”.
An attempt by DN to get a response from Lisbon City Council in time for publication was unsuccessful.
Source: Diário de Notícias/ ZAP
