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Unpaid ragpicker climbs on power tower, dies

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-16 09:33

NANJING -- A junk collector died Wednesday from electric shock on a power line tower when demanding back payment from another junk dealer in east China's Jiangsu Province, police sources said.

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The 41-year-old woman, surnamed Ma, climbed a high-voltage power line tower in front of a court in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu, in the morning after failing to push the court to help recover her arrears.

Another junk collector owed her more than 20,000 yuan (US$2,927) in the purchase of her plastics.

Police who arrived at the spot at about 11 a.m. tried to calm her down while arranging rescue. But the woman from Linshu County, neighboring Shandong province, was so agitated that she accidentally touched the high-voltage power line.