A vacationing British child was found dead in his hotel room in the Sunset Beach Hotel in Phuket, Thailand, the Mirror
reported today. Connor O'Keefe, a 7-year-old boy from Southwark,
London, is believed to have been electrocuted when he unplugged his
Game Boy from the power socket as its battery charged.
The child's body was found slumped on the floor of his parent's
hotel room by his mother, Kathleen Curry. She said that Connor
understood the dangers of mixing electricity and water, and insisted he
would not have plugged the handheld in while still wet. The family
reportedly bought the charger in Thailand.
"We're all devastated," Curry said. "My son was only unplugging
his Game Boy--he does it all the time at home. There should be some
kind of warning about the different electrical currents you get abroad
because this would not have happened in England."
In Thailand, most electrical plugs have two prongs, compared to
those in the UK which have three, with an added "earth" prong. British
plugs are unusual in that they also contain a fuse for added safety.
The resort is in one of the areas affected by the devastating
Boxing Day tsunami two years ago, but has since been repaired and
reopened to the public. Police called the death an accident, and
insisted the Sunset Beach Hotel was not to blame.
Nintendo, manufacturer of the handheld, made the following
comment on the tragedy: "Nintendo wishes to offer its sincere
condolences to the family of Connor O' Keefe. Details of the accident
are currently unclear so we are unable to make any further comment at
this stage."
News Source: Gamespot.com
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