Would-be electric-cable thief dies in pylon plunge in Far East

KRASNOYARSK, Far East, April 14 (RIA Novosti, Svetlana Belkovich) - A man fell to his death in Russia's Far East after climbing up an electricity pylon apparently to steal power-line cable, the local electricity company said Friday.

A Krasnoyarskenergo spokesman said the man had climbed up the pylon and managed to cut away a section of electrified cable. But he was apparently unable to maintain his balance, and paramedics called to the scene said he died of injuries sustained in his fall.

The spokesman said there had been 15 cases of accidental death during attempts to steal company property in the past two years.

Twenty-seven cases of theft of its property have been registered in the first three months of 2006 alone, the spokesman said. Thieves have stolen 20 km (12 miles) of electric cable and dismantled two substations, he said, adding that company losses from theft stood at 435,000 rubles ($15,700) and that it would cost 534,000 rubles ($19,300) to replace the stolen equipment.