A schoolboy’s skin was charred black when he miraculously survived a 10,000-volt shock while trespassing at a electricity transformer facility.
The 14-year-old, named Nikita, suffered horrific burns and to much of his body and is now being treated by specialist doctors in hospital, where he has been called "the luckiest boy of the month" given that he wasn't killed immediately.
The boy's stunt led to a major electricity outage affecting thousands of people in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhya.
He told police he had entered the shed belonging to a power utility because he just wanted to see what it looked like.
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Photos taken after the incident show the boy with severe burns to his face and arms as he is sat on the ground at the facility and being treated in hospital on Monday.
He was described as the “luckiest boy of the month” after surviving the massive electric shock with charred skin and singed hair.
Ambulance station chief Igor Shostov told local TCH: "The child's hands, neck, head, and his left thigh were burnt.
"The burns are second or third degree over 30 to 40 per cent of his body."
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The boy will require long-term treatment for his injuries, including plastic surgery.
The adventurous teenager had climbed inside the facility on a walk with friends, say reports.
He told police he “just wanted to see” inside the electrical facility close to Arochny bridge.
The Zaporizhzhya news group reported: “He tasted a 10,000 volt attack and survived by miracle.
“The question to regional energy company is – why was the cabin open?”
But Zaporizhzhya Regional Energy company claimed the teenager had broken a lock to get inside the graffiti-covered facility.
“This cabin was locked and had all the necessary warning signs,” said a statement.
He took hold of the giant fuses “with his bare hands”, the company alleged.
The boy admitted he wanted to look at the fuses inside, T1 reported.
Doctors said the boy was in a stable condition, the report added.
Ukraine’s National Police has opened a criminal investigation into the incident.
Komsomolskaya Pravda reported: “People in charge of supervising power stations and transformer facilities are suspected of professional negligence that led to grave consequences".
If convicted they could face between two and five years in jail.
Ukrainian media said the boy's survival serves as a cautionary tale for other youths, who were warned not to trespass at transformer substations.
