Holiday youngster electrocuted as he unplugs Game Boy

A seven-year-old boy was killed after he was electrocuted while unplugging a hand-held games console.

Connor O'Keeffe was on a New Year holiday in Thailand with his family when he died.

He received the fatal shock unplugging a live charger from a socket in his room after returning from the hotel's swimming pool.

Thai officials said the incident at the Sunset Beach Hotel in Patong Beach, Phuket, was caused because Connor's hands were still wet after his swim.

But his mother Kathleen Curry, who discovered his body in the room on Saturday, insisted his hands were dry when he went to fetch the Nintendo Game Boy.

She warned other parents to beware of electrical goods bought abroad. "My son was only unplugging his Game Boy. He does it all the time at home," added Mrs Curry, 45, from Walworth, South-East London.

"There should be some kind of warning about electrical currents abroad because this wouldn't have happened in England.

"Connor had just eaten but was still hungry so we ordered some more food. When it arrived I was near the swimming pool but he was nowhere to be seen. So I went into our apartment to look for him but he was lying dead on the floor.

"He was aware of the dangers of electricity and was not stupid - he would not mess around with plugs."

Although Thai Police have recorded the death as an accident, many Westerners regard the electrical system in Thailand as dangerous.

The Sunset Beach Hotel was left seriously damaged following 2005's devastating tsunami, requiring an extensive refit.

Tourism in the area has only recently recovered following the 2004 tsunami.

Officials are acutely aware that any bad publicise could discourage future travellers.

Wiraporn Ungathakorn, acting manager of the hotel, said last night: "The boy had been swimming and went back to his room.

"We believe he had plugged in his Game Boy or pulled at the charger while still wet.

"The water must have gone straight into the plug. This was a tragic accident."