DOCTORS at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) yesterday told a South Better Hope man that his left arm would have to be amputated since tissues in the limb are severely damaged.

They also told him that should he decline amputation, it could spell bigger problems for him in the future.
The man, Osgar Mohamed, called ‘Jesus’, had received third degree burns from electrical shocks he sustained, Friday, after a Guyana Power and Light (GPL) cable taking power into the Stabroek Market burst, having apparently been clipped by a tall truck that was passing in the vicinity in downtown Georgetown.
It was also reported that immediately after the cable fell to the ground, it began bouncing around, sending several persons in the area scattering as they realised the deadly cable was still alive at the time.
It took the police a while before they thought it best to cordon off the area, but not before some policemen had been seen directing persons where they should walk.
Not knowing the reason for the police directions, some people ignored them, but belatedly realized their error when many of them almost stepped on the severed wire.
Meanwhile, one vendor in the area told the Guyana Chronicle that the Guyana Power and Light Inc (GPL) had been informed of the development, and persons were upset when a team from the power company arrived on the scene but refused to immediately sever the live cable because they needed permission from “back in the office” before they could cut the wire. And this, the vendor explained, was despite the fact that the wire was still lying on the ground, threatening the lives of persons in the area.
The Guyana Fire Service (GFS) had also been summoned to the scene, but could not act until the GPL had first acted.
The live wire, which remained on the roadway for several minutes on Friday, burst into flames at intervals and spewed balls of fire.
This publication was able to confirm that prior to being shocked, Mohamed was busy trying to alert persons to the presence of the live wire which lay on the road. The man’s efforts saved at least two persons from being electrocuted.

 At one point, the man even attempted to douse the balls of fire with water, but was advised against taking that course of action.
One angry vendor in the area noted that he could not understand the explanation given by the GPL crew about their inability to clip the cable at the time they arrived on the scene. Another was heard saying:        “Based on calculation, ‘Jesus’ get kill two time; the Romans kill one at Calvary, and GLP kill the other one at Stabroek.”
But despite that pronouncement, Osgar Mohamed, aka ‘Jesus’, is still alive, and while he is battling for his life, a hospital source informed this newspaper, that the man’s chances for survival seem very positive.