A doctor at a leading burn unit in Santo Domingo has commented that the Dominican Republic is the world leader in fatalities caused by electrocution. The Ministry of the Interior and Police recently released numbers seem to confirm this. Nearly 900 persons perished by electrocution in the five years between 2017 and 2021. In 2021 alone, nearly 180 persons died in this manner.
Most of the deaths, are likely to occur due to illegal tampering with the electric grid. The statistics indicate that 90% occurred by contact with the electricity grid. This would seem apparent to anyone who has observed the “spaghetti bowls” of wires coming from most electricity poles.
Besides electrocutions, over the past year there were 319 drownings, 670 suicides, 1,172 homicides and 1,874 traffic fatalities. The latter once again confirming the Dominican position at the top of the world in traffic fatalities per 100,000 population.
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Diario Libre
25 April 2022