An eight-year-old boy has died after he allegedly attempted to climb up an aluminum ladder in his home in Kolofo’ou last week.
It is believed the house against which the ladder was placed had electrical faults, a Tonga Power Limited (TPL) spokesperson told radio FM 87.5 online this morning.
The boy was trying to get up to the roof to fetch a brush that was forgotten there, the radio reported.
He was rushed to hospital before he was confirmed dead.
The TPL spokesperson said they were awaiting medical reports.
The victim’s family used the ladder previously to remove volcanic ash which blanketed the house after last month’s volcanic eruption.
The powerful eruption on 15 January sent gas 20km into the air, prompted a tsunami, with waves reaching up to 15 metres (49ft), and blanketed the country in ash.
Four people died as a result and the government estimates that 85 percent of people in the country have been affected by it. In some islands and villages, every single house was destroyed by the tsunami.
