Durban - Residents, from all walks of life, have dug deep into their pockets to help a Durban family give their 12-year-old son a dignified funeral.
More than R11 000 has been raised for the funeral service of Durban youngster, Kyle O'Reilly, who was killed after he stepped on live wires near the Umbilo River at the weekend.
The 12-year-old had been out with friends on Sunday when was electrocuted by illegally connected electrical wires.
On Thursday morning, the Daily News reported that O'Reilly had walked on a footpath and reached a little river, where he was electrocuted when he held on to the illegal electric wire and fell into the river. He had been out with friends when tragedy struck.
Police said the illegal cable was traced back to a municipal lamp post almost 2km away that was disconnected by eThekwini staff.
Earlier in the week, the family revealed that they could not afford to bury their son. Following a post on a local community group, residents donated towards O'Reilly's funeral arrangements. In just 24 hours, R11 322 had been raised.
Taking to Facebook, Kyle's father, Wayne O'Reilly, said he would like to thank all those who contributed to funding his son's funeral.
"We would like to thank the community, Seaview NHW, Bellair CPF, and the Queensburgh Crime Watch who without fail came forward to assist us as (a) family! To the companies and funeral services that came forward to assist, we thank you all. We as family are overwhelmed with phone calls, messages. We thank you all," he said.
Kyle's funeral will take place at the Umbilo Full Gospel Church on Monday at 11am.
The Mercury