MONTREAL - A would-be thief is dead after breaking into a Hydro-Quebec tower to steal valuable copper wire.
The man in his 40s was electrocuted when he cut the electrical wires atop the tower in the north end of Montreal.
According to city police, such thefts are becoming commonplace with the soaring price of scrap metal, including copper.
Across the country in the past year, there have been reports of manhole covers torn out, aluminum siding ripped off homes and aging church roofs stripped for scrap.
In one case in Ontario, a bronze statue of a Ukrainian poet was chopped off at the feet and carted off to be sold for scrap.
Electrical wires have been a popular target for scrap metal thieves and there have been many deaths reported in the U.S.
The wires carry up to 13,000 volts, which can kill instantly upon contact.
