Ntombifikile Nqantiya, 11, was electrocuted because of izinyoka on Tuesday.

The latest incident has brought to eight the number of people shocked to death in the area since last year.

Ntombifikile was a Grade 6 pupil at the Redcliffe Primary School. She died while she and other children were fetching mangos not far from her home in Area 2, Redcliffe, outside Verulam.

When Sowetan arrived at her home yesterday a visibly shaken Matshumayo, 61, could not suppress her tears and bemoaned the untimely death of her granddaughter, who was her “pillar of strength”.

“I have been dealt a hard blow. I am terribly hurt by the way she died. After burying her mother this year and her younger brother last year, I hoped that she would grow up to bury me when my time comes.

“Sadly, today she is lying dead in the mortuary. I don’t know what I have done to God to deserve this,” Matshumayo said.

She said when she heard about her granddaughter’s death she fainted and could not go to the spot where she was found dead.

“I did not have the courage to see her lifeless body. It was too much for me.”

Liphi Mbambo, who lives near the mango trees where Ntombifikile died, described the scene as horrifying.

“When the other children came running I immediately rushed to the scene. I found her lying on top of a loose live wire. she was already dead.

“She was terribly burnt. Her tiny body was covered in smoke. I used sticks to remove the live wire but it was too late.”

Mbambo said he feared that more people would die since it was the mango season.

His sentiments were echoed by Sew Buhdram, who said he had seen two dogs electrocuted in the same area.

As the Sowetan team left the area they observed two men carrying wire heading towards the same place to reconnect the power.

eThekwini municipality spokesperson James Nxumalo said: “People continue with illegal connections despite all our attempts to warn them. We will continue discouraging them.”