Tunneling boy's mother sues utility

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A Canadian woman whose 9-year-old son tunneled into an electric sub-station and was badly burned is suing a Manitoba power utility for negligence.

The unidentified boy was one of four children who couldn't get through a locked gate or over a high fence surrounding the transformer on May 29, 2006, so they dug a tunnel beneath the fence, the Winnipeg Sun reported.

The boy touched a live wire and was thrown 15 feet into the air and landed with extensive burns to his upper body.

The incident happened in South Indian Lake, about 400 miles northwest of Winnipeg.

The mother's lawsuit alleges Manitoba Hydro was "aware of the inherent dangers connected with the power transformer ... and in particular, the danger of allowing the site, which was alluring to children, to be accessed by them," the report said.

The suit contends the boy was left with severe scarring and mental impairment.

No date was published for the beginning of hearings.