Photos: Mum whose toddler son was electrocuted speaks out. "I felt helpless seeing him lying there"

The mother of a four-year-old child who died after an electric shock in Eersterust, South Africa has spoken out about her ordeal. Four-year-old Chayline died a few hours after suffering an electric shock last Wednesday afternoon. The toddler had been playing across the street from his home when a neighbour found him shaking and hanging onto
the gate.

He was rushed to the nearest clinic where they gave him oxygen and put him on drip. A few hours later, he passed away.  According to the neighbour, Chayline was playing near a security gate and there were exposed live electricity cables on the ground.

Romana Swarts, 37, said Chayline, was visiting her aunt Johanna in Alben Street on the day he died.

"I received a call from my aunt’s neighbour, Maries Godfrey, between 16:20 and 16:30. Godfrey said my child suffered an electric shock and I should come."

On her way to her aunt’s place, Swart said she received another call from Godfrey who told her to go to Eersterust clinic instead as Chayline was taken there.

"When I got to the clinic around 17:30, nurses were performing CPR on him while they waited for the ambulance to take him to Steve Biko academic hospital."

Swart said nurses put her son on a heart machine around 18:45. "As he lay there, I went out because I couldn’t take it any longer. I felt so helpless. He wasn’t breathing properly on his own," she said.

Around 19:00, a nurse told Swarts her son had died. She said she was still in a state of shock and did not know what exactly caused her son’s death.

"I was not told exactly what happened to my son. All I was told was that he was shocked. I don’t know where and how," she said.

Swart (pictured with her other children) said her son had a mark on his left foot. She said police were at the scene and informed her they would conduct their own investigation. An enquiry was sent to the police.

Chayline’s 13-year-old older sister Cliché said she was angry at the people who caused her brother’s death.

"I don’t feel happy about this. I am very angry at the people who did this because I really loved my brother. I am sad about this whole thing," said Cliché.

Swarts said she could not afford to bury her son as she was unemployed, but would be assisted by her brother Raymond and her sister Raweida.

"Chayline was a great and fun person. He was forever smiling and enjoyed playing with his cousin Kyle," said Swart.

Chayline would be buried on Wednesday, May 18.

Source: Pretoria West Rekord