A distraught mother discovered her 10-year-old son had been killed by a massive electric shock when she saw a gruesome photo of his body on a neighbourhood WhatsApp group.
Schoolboy Artur died instantly when 13,000 volts of electricity surged through him as he played in the southern Russian city of Novosibirsk.
The family had only moved to the area five days before the tragic accident and it is believed the exposed cable had been left in a mound of rubble by construction workers.
The land where the incident happened is popular with local children and used as a cut through to a nearby bus stop.
The boy’s mother Valentina moved to the area five days earlier and had joined a WhatsApp messenger chat for neighbours.
She said: “No-one told me. I saw what happened to my son in the chat.
“We moved here five days ago, and he didn't know anything about the area.
“He made friends with a boy a couple of days ago and they were playing outside together.”
Police have launched a criminal investigation into the accident.
Under Russian law such negligence could land those responsible a 10-year prison sentence.
A Russian Investigative Committee statement said: “It has been established that the victim got on a pile of construction rubbish under which there was a high voltage electric cable.
“Due to contact with the wire, he died immediately at the accident site.”
Locals have raised money for the boy’s funeral.
