19-year-old electrocuted on worksite in Kirkuk, marking 15th workplace death this year

KIRKUK — A 19-year-old worker died Tuesday after being electrocuted while on the job in Kirkuk’s Zawr neighborhood, local authorities said, bringing the number of workplace fatalities in the governorate to 15 so far this year.

The incident occurred around midday, according to a source at the Kirkuk Forensic Department, who told 964media the worker lost consciousness and came into direct contact with a live electrical cable, dying instantly. The victim was a resident of the Arouba neighborhood.

The body was transferred to the forensic department for examination and will be handed over to his family, officials said.

Jasim Ali, head of the Kirkuk Workers’ Union, confirmed the death was the 15th such case in 2025 involving on-site accidents in the governorate.

In February, a 32-year-old worker died from electrocution while painting a house in Kirkuk’s Shorja neighborhood.

On Sept. 18, two construction workers died and another was seriously injured while cleaning a drainage system in Kirkuk’s Derwaza neighborhood.

On Sept. 13, one worker died and another was seriously injured after falling from scaffolding at a site in the same neighborhood.