An unidentified female food vendor was killed by high tension cable on Thursday, along Okpara Square in Umuahia, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

The woman, an assistant food vendor, had her life cut short while trying to rescue her co-worker from an electric shock.

According to an eyewitness, the deceased had rushed to save her colleague, who the high tension cable from the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) pole had shocked.

“Both women were assisting a woman to sell her food beside the high tension pole. When one of the cables fell off, one of them touched it and got shocked.

“While she was crying for help, the other woman, who is now late quickly rushed to rescue her. It was in the process of rescuing the first victim that she got electrocuted,” the eyewitness told NAN.

It was gathered that the person the deceased was trying to save was rushed to an undisclosed hospital for urgent medical attention.

The deceased was covered with a wrapper while the owner of the food business was reported to have gone to the police.

The Public Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police, Abia Command, Mr Godfrey Ogbonna, confirmed the incident to NAN, saying the police would investigate the case.