This is the moment a rat caused a spectacular pyrotechnic display shortly before blacking out a village after it was electrocuted when gnawing cables on a utility pole.
Villagers in the town of Sanjiao in Zhongshan City in South China’s Guangdong Province called the fire service after the utility pole carrying electrical cables suddenly caught fire at 9:15pm local time on 26th November.
Frightened residents in the otherwise quiet area, which was also dimly lit, kept their distance as the distribution transformer on the pole burnt brightly and lit up the sky with flashes of light.
Footage taken by locals from outside their homes shows smoke rising from the transformer where the rat had been fried as the short-circuiting device continues to shoot out sparks.
Authorities said it continued for nearly an hour until they were able to cut power to the area and sent a maintenance team.
While fixing the transformer and its cables officials found the rat had chewed through the cables, causing the malfunction.
A large pile of firewood was also found stacked underneath the utility cable which fortunately avoided being set alight.
Village officials said they had already restored electricity to the area.
The firewood has also been relocated.
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Story By: Scott Feng, Sub-Editor: Jamie King, Agency: AsiaWire
