In our newsletter in May, we published the list of Electric Shock Drowning Incidents, which included the 3 new deaths for the past year. Since May, there tragically have been 4 additional accidents. Sadly this list continues to grow.
Here is the updated report sent to us by David Rifkin. We list in detail those incidents dating back to 2012. The balance can be found on this attached PDF.
Electric Shock Drowning Incidents “ Marinas©
(In-Water electrocution fatalities included)
Rev. 8/15/16
Jim Shafer, the originator of this list, is currently unable to participate in this area. Contact David Rifkin for more information.
Low level ground fault leakage in the marina AC shore power system can cause lethal potentials to appear on any underwater metal surface “ either on a boat or on the dock. In fresh water the electric field surrounding this surface can paralyze a swimmer. There is no warning that this condition exists, and it has resulted in a number of drownings. Further, there is no post-mortem evidence that electric shock was the cause. Therefore, many of the fatalities listed below are only the known electric shock caused drownings, which were investigated because of circumstantial evidence, i.e., multiple deaths, eye witnesses, considerable distress, cries for help, shock sensation reported by rescuers, etc.
Our studies have shown that, in salt water, the high voltage gradients required for electric shock drowning could not be established with the available fault current levels. In no cases can we attribute cause of death to electric shock drowning in salt water.
We do not know the exact wiring errors or ground faults that created some of the incidents listed below, but it can be assumed that an energized AC conductor (L1 or L2) came in contact with a bonded (grounded) metal object, and coincidently, this object was not connected to the shore bonding (grounding) system. This caused a voltage to appear on these under-water metal objects (both on boats and docks). This created a lethal electric field around the object (a person in this electric field can be paralyzed leading to drowning, or direct electrocution). This was true in every case that was investigated.
No database has been found that catalogs Electric Shock Drowning “ our term for this phenomenon. The incidents listed below came from various sources, i.e., investigation, press, third party, and eye witness reports. Dates and details are missing for some. There is no way to know what fraction of the total fatalities this listing represents, but it may be reasonable to assume that it could be small. We have no reports of fatalities in salt water due to electric shock drowning.
Some of the fatalities listed here were actually caused by ventricular fibrillation (electrocution), because the victim's head was reported not to have been submerged. They are technically not drownings but are listed here since the causes are similar to drowning by electric shock.
ELECTRIC SHOCK DROWNINGS since 2012. For the list dating back to 2004, click here.)
1. |
Jul 3, 2016 |
A Tennessee Lake, TN. A 13year old boy was swimming from a boat. He was noticeably in trouble when 2 adults jumped in to rescue. They were both overcome by electric shock. They were able to save the boy. Exact time and location are unknown. Story reported by WSOCTV.com in Charlotte, NC. |
2. |
May 29, 2016 |
Silver Spring Township, PA. An 8 year old girl was among 8 kids swimming in a backyard pool. When the pool light was turned on 7 other kids were able to get out of the water. The cause was a faulty pool light circuit. Last known in critical condition. |
3. |
Jun 27, 2016 |
Phoenix, AZ. 27 year old man in a private pool was trying to repair a broken light fixture. He was shocked and killed while working on the light. The exact cause of the accident is unknown. |
4. |
May 28, 2016 |
Wildwood Crest, NJ. 34 year man was found at the bottom of a motel pool unconscious. The exact cause of the accident is unknown but a pool drain is suspected. Owner said pool was recently inspected and bonded. Last known in critical condition. |
5. |
Apr 16, 2016 |
Smith Lake, Princeville, AL. Two teenage girls entered the water from a private dock. Both girls were getting shocked in the water. One girl drowned, the other treated and released from hospital. The victim's father and his son jumped into the water to assist. The father blacked out after both were feeling the shocks. The power was turned off at the house, after which the father came to and survived along with son. A missing ground and faulty lighting fixture are suspected to be the cause. |
6. |
Mar 27, 2016 |
Palm Springs, FL. Six people were shocked in a private swimming pool, one of them a man who jumped in to rescue his daughter. He was overcome by electric shock and pronounced dead at the hospital. The 5 others were treated, and one young girl remained hospitalized in critical condition. Faulty pool wiring is suspected as the cause. Homes were built in 1963, but not sure of the age of the swimming pool. |
7 |
June 21, 2015 |
Lake of the Ozarks, Woods Hollow Cove, 22.2 mile marker, MO. A 21 year old man and fellow swimmer felt electricity in the water near a dock. The 21 year old grabbed a dock ladder to get out when he was electrocuted and fell back into the water. Someone ran ashore and turned off the power likely saving the other man in the water. A faulty junction box between dock and residence is suspected. The occupants tried to reset the circuit breaker but it would trip after 10-15 seconds of being turned on. The last attempt to turn the breaker on coincided with the 2 swimmers being near the dock as it got dark (breaker controlled dock lights). |
8. |
Aug 24, 2014 |
Lake Bruin, Tensas Parish, LA. Two teenage girls were shocked when trying to exit the water using a ladder on a pontoon boat. The 13yo died, the 17yo was hospitalized. A faulty boat lift is blamed for energizing the ladder of the boat. |
9. |
June 10, 2014 |
Lake Powell, UT. A 22 year old man jumped off the stern of a boat docked at the Bullfrog Lake Marina. He surfaced briefly then went back under. His death was caused by electric current leaking into the water from a boat docked at the next slip over. The cause of the leakage is being investigated. |
10. |
Apr 23, 2014 |
North Miami Beach, FL. A 7 year old boy was electrocuted at his home in the family swimming pool. An older brother felt a shock and urge the victim and a younger brother to get out. The victim did not hear his brother, and immediately thereafter was killed. A rescuer performing CPR put his hand in the water and felt a shock. A faulty swimming pool light is the likely cause of the accident. The presence of a GFCI was not mentioned in the newspaper reports. |
11. |
Sep, 2013 |
Houston, TX. An older man was killed in a swimming pool attempting to rescue a child. Faulty pool lights were suspected as the cause. Date approximate (Labor Day weekend, 2013). |
12. |
July 25, 2013 |
Ellijay, GA. A 19 year old girl was electrocuted after a power outage at a home where she was watching a 5 year old girl. A power line came down about 25ft from the house. She went outside to investigate the power outage and either stepped in puddle of water or soggy ground. The voltage gradient from the downed power line was enough to electrocute her. |
13. |
July 19, 2013 |
Syracuse, NY. A 12 year old girl was electrocuted while filling an inflatable pool in her backyard. Witness say she picked up an extension cord or electric pump plugged into a receptacle, and began shaking. She then fell into the pool. Rescuers received shocks trying to get her out of the pool. Although not mentioned, it was likely that the receptacle was not protected by an operable GFCI as required by the National Electric Code for all outdoor receptacles. |
14. |
July 17, 2013 |
Davidson County, NC. An 11yo girl was electrocuted in a swimming pool. It was reported that a power line wire came down in the parking lot near the pool. The girl touched the ladder of the pool and was shocked. Rescuers trying to help the girl were also shocked. Electricity was likely flowing from the downed wire into the earth, and passed through the pool enroute to its source. |
15. |
July 4, 2013 |
Eagle Lake in Orrick Township, Sherburne County, MN. A man was holding a plugged-in battery charger while standing in 20 of water. He was preparing to connect the charger to his houseboat. He slipped and immersed the charger which resulted in a severe electrical shock. He died on 7 July. A woman who went to his aid was also shocked and unconscious but was revived at the scene. It is unknown whether the charger was properly grounded. |
16. |
June 30, 2013 |
Pulaski County, KY, near South Fork of Lake Cumberland near Garland Bend. A man swimming at a private dock reaches up to pull a ladder down to exit the lake. The ladder contacted a frayed electrical wire energizing the ladder. The man was electrocuted, but was able to move his 2yo son out of danger. Others felt shocks trying to help the man. |
17. |
May 20, 2013 |
Grayson County, KY, Rough River Lake. A 36 year old man and one of his dogs were lost near a marina boat slip. He jumped into the water when the dog was having problems. Witnesses report the man's eyes rolled back and he went under the water suddenly. Inspectors found a shore cord (with a submerged coupling between two cords) was energized and reported this was the cause of the electrocution. The man was reportedly 10-15 feet from the houseboat. They found multiple NEC violations at the marina. |
18. |
Sep, 2012 |
Americus, GA, South Georgia Technical College. A 19 year old woman was electrocuted in a fountain pond while retrieving her young son's ball. Efforts to assist her were thwarted by others receiving electrical shocks. Investigators found 17 violations in the electrical supply to the pond. One month earlier another student reported shocks (the pond was only drained and cleaned as a result). |
19. |
Aug 30, 2012 |
Bingham County, Idaho. Two men and a woman were electrocuted in an irrigation ditch. The woman went in to rescue a dog, and the 2 men tried to rescue the woman. A faulty irrigation pump was responsible for this tragedy. |
20. |
Aug 22, 2012 |
Los Angeles, CA. A man speeding in a car hit a fire hydrant and electrical pole. The energized from the pole ended up in the large puddle created by the broken fire hydrant. 2 women were electrocuted when they entered the puddle to try and assist the driver. |
21. |
July 25, 2012 |
Tampico, IL. A 14 year old boy and girl were electrocuted while detasseling corn in an IL cornfield. A lightning strike is suggested to have destroyed the grounding system for an irrigation pump. A fault in the pump then leaked electricity into the ground creating electrical gradients across puddles and other wet areas. |
22. |
July 25, 2012 |
Cohasset, MN, Pokegama Lake. Two men and a woman were shocked by an extension cord in the water, presumably from a boat lift. One of the men could not be revived and died. The other two were hospitalized in serious condition. |
23. |
July 7, 2012 |
Lake of the Ozarks, MO. A 26 year old woman was swimming with her 2 stepbrothers when the brothers felt a tingling. The boys swam to one dock and were unharmed. The woman swam to a different dock, apparently where there was faulty wiring. She may have been electrocuted when she touched something metallic on this dock. She could not be revived at the scene. |
24. |
July 4, 2012 |
Lake of the Ozarks, MO. A 13 year old girl and her 8 year old brother were killed by electricity while swimming near a private dock. The hot wire to an electrical outlet had chafed and shorted to the dock framing steel. This steel structure was not bonded, nor was there GFCI protection as required by the National Electric Code. |
25. |
July 4, 2012 |
German Creek Marina on Cherokee Lake, Bean Station, TN. A 10 year old and 11 year old boys were killed by electricity in the water at a TN marina while swimming between 2 docked houseboats. An 8 year old girl also swimming with the boys was shocked but pulled to safety. Several adults and another 12 year old boy were shocked trying to rescue the 2 boys. Faulty houseboat wiring on one of the boats is believed to be one of the causes. |
26. |
June 27, 2012 |
Celebration, FL. An 11 year old girl was electrocuted when she reached into a mini golf pond at an Orlando, FL resort to retrieve a golf ball. A man trying to help her was also shocked. The cause was faulty pond pump that was not protected by the required GFCI. Water came in contact with the pumps windings and electrified the small cement pond on the mini golf course. |
27. |
May 5, 2012 |
Lake Sinclair, Putnam County, GA. A 25-year-old woman was apparently electrocuted when she reached from the water and touched either a box or bare wire on the dock (it was being worked on at the time). Another woman in the water was shocked when she pulled the 25 year old away from the dock and held her head above water. She could not be revived at the scene. |
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