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Police have named the seven-year-old boy electrocuted near Napier on Friday afternoon.
Noah Joel McOnie died after he touched a metal stake, stuck in the ground where electrical cables had been laid, while playing outside his grandparents' suburban Tamatea home.
Two ambulance crews tried to resuscitate him for nearly half an hour after they were called about 2pm, but he died at the scene.
Senior Sergeant Tony Dewhirst said early indications were that Noah had been swinging on the stake and it had touched a power cable.
The police investigation was ongoing and it was too soon to speculate whether anyone was at fault, Mr Dewhirst said.
"We're still making our inquiries but at this stage it just looks like a tragic accident."
Power company Unison Networks Ltd was conducting its own investigation.
Company spokeswoman Joan Spiller said Noah's grandfather had put about six warratah stakes in front of his home.
"This gentleman was doing it to protect his grass because he'd just relaid his lawn."
The grandfather told Ms Spiller, who attended the site, a number of people from family members to the postman had touched or lent on the stakes without incident.
Early indications were that the cable was at the correct depth and had a protective cover.
- NZPA
