Residents boiled alive

Forget dangerous driving, HIV, icy pavements, Mafiosi, and other dangers common in Kiev. There’s a new threat to the city’s residents and visitors, and it’s much scarier.

In the past week two unsuspecting victims have fallen down uncovered manholes into near boiling water.

On January 25 an 8 year old boy fell down a hole just a few metres from his school. He lived but suffered severe burns. Five days earlier, an elderly woman suffered a similar fate while walking her dog. She was badly burned and the dog cooked alive.

Like many cities in the former Soviet Union, Kiev has a district heating system. Heating and hot water is distributed from centralised heating stations to apartments and other buildings.

Tags: Dangers