Last weekend, a frightening incident occurred in Shizuoka Prefecture where 7 people including two children were seriously injured after coming into contact with an electric fence meant to keep animals out of a field of crops. According to locals, the two families had come to play in a nearby stream and when one of the men was shocked by the fence the others went to help and were also injured.
Two of the injured people later died.
Some netizens on 2ch were initially critical of the victims and cracked jokes, but once pictures of a harmless-looking fence emerged others were more sympathetic and expressed disbelief that such a tiny fence would be wired to produce such high voltage.
From NHK News:
“2 Critically Injured By Electric Shock From Animal Proof Fence
On the evening of the 19th, 7 people including adults and children were shocked by an electric fence installed around a field in Izu-machi, Shizuoka Prefecture. Among the victims, two men in their 40’s suffered serious injuries and became unconscious.
At 4:40 on the 19th, 7 people including 5 adults and 2 children were shocked by an electric fence installed around a field in Ishiki in Izu-machi, Shizuoka Prefecture. According to police, two men ages 42 and 47 were transported to the hospital where they received treatment, but were unconscious with serious injuries.
In addition three people–two 8-year old children, a woman in her forties and a woman in her seventies—are conscious and receiving medical treatment.
According to police, 6 of the seven people are from two families, and came to have fun at a nearby relative’s house, while the remaining person is a 70-year-old woman who lives in the area.
According to a man who lives close to the scene, the two families were playing in an area where the river flows in front of a farm field. One of the men was shocked by the electric fence and the others were injured when they attempted to help him.
A 52-year-old who lives in the neighborhood also spoke. “Deer and wild boars show up in these parts, so many people installed electric fences along the river. But we rarely ever get people who come to play in the water in this area.”
Police are investigate further into the situation at the time of the incident.
An Investigation Into the Installation of the Fence
Miyawaki Yutaka, chief member of the Japan Electric Fence Council, remarked, “Anybody can install an electric fence, but electrifying a fence that produces a direct shock from a 100 volt household power source is forbidden, and safety precautions are taken in the installation to ensure that even if a person comes into contact with the fence, it doesn’t conduct a large amount of electricity. In this instance, it appears a large current was conducted when touched by several people, so we need to thoroughly investigate the installation process.”
Comments from 2ch:
ミッドナイトエクスプレス(庭)＠＼(^o^)／:
You reap what you sow.
ドラゴンスープレックス(大阪府)＠＼(^o^)／ ：
What kind of sightseeing would you be doing in a place like that?
中年’sリフト(岐阜県)＠＼(^o^)／:
Were they trying to steal crops?
ジャンピングDDT(神奈川県)＠＼(^o^)／:
If someone gets shocked you can’t help them.
All you can do is watch.
マシンガンチョップ(茸)＠＼(^o^)／ :
So these people were just caught trespassing, is that it?
ランサルセ(庭)＠＼(^o^)／:
Looking at this, you’d have no clue.
中年’sリフト(dion軍)＠＼(^o^)／ :
Whoever installed this must be screwy.
メンマ(庭)＠＼(^o^)／:
You can’t even tell it’s electrified.
キドクラッチ(愛媛県)＠＼(^o^)／ :
Is it a trap?
河津掛け(空)＠＼(^o^)／:
Lately every small town has electric fences.
エクスプロイダー(埼玉県)＠＼(^o^)／:
Yeah but are those fences wired to such strong currents? w
サッカーボールキック(関西地方)＠＼(^o^)／:
So what happened is they were caught in a thief trap.
閃光妖術(東京都)＠＼(^o^)／:
Did they touch the fence while soaking wet?
What an awful trap.
スターダストプレス(愛知県)＠＼(^o^)／:
What kind of thing are we talking about with “100 volts”?
Enough to give you an afro?
トラースキック(東日本)＠＼(^o^)／ :
I pictured some scene like a cartoon where you can see through to the bones.
フォーク攻撃(千葉県)＠＼(^o^)／:
The people who installed the fence must not have thought they’d actually catch a human w
Japan can’t be the only country that has fences like these.
エルボーバット(静岡県)＠＼(^o^)／:
Why on earth was the fence powered enough to cause serious injuries?
If even the slightest mistake had occurred someone could have died, like a local elementary school student.
