Mother of electrocuted Perth girl: 'I just want my baby to wake up'

Denishar Woods suffered an electric shock after using a garden tap. Photo / Channel 9

The family of a young girl who suffered a life-threatening electric shock from a garden tap say that her organs have overheated and she could be permanently damaged.

Denishar Woods, 11, is fighting for her life at Princess Margaret Hospital after she was electrocuted by the outdoor tap at her family's Beldon property in Perth, Western Australia on Saturday night, news.com.au reports.

The fault was likely an upstream "open circuit neutral", which could be caused by corrosion, a loose connection and in some cases, poor workmanship, according to WA's Office of EnergySafety.

The schoolgirl's mother, Lacey Harrison, was also jolted by the current when she pulled her daughter out of the electrified water.

Ms Harrison said she was personally very unwell after the incident, but checked out of hospital early so she could be with her daughter, the ABC reported.

"I should be laying there, not her," Ms Harrison said. "I just want my baby to wake up."

Ms Harrison told the public broadcaster that her daughter's organs reached 38C and she was on a cooling pad in hospital to try to limit the damage.

"There's no signs of whether or not she's going to pull through. They're just keeping her organs cool," Ms Harrison said.

EnergySafety director of electricity compliance Mike Bunko said residual current devices would not protect against an open circuit neutral.

"The fault is preceding the RCD," he told 6PR radio on Monday.

"If you get a fault upstream, generally before the meter where the electricity is coming in, the RCD can't see it and can't operate."

WA Housing Minister Peter Tinley said the Department of Housing was looking into the incident and co-operating with Energy Safety, which is undertaking an investigation.

"We will get to the bottom of this," Mr Tinley told reporters. "We just hope that she pulls through. This is a tragedy that nobody should have to endure."

Mr Tinley said the family would be immediately accommodated elsewhere if they didn't want to remain at the property, where the power has been cut off to make it safe.

"If we have to put them in a hotel or a motel, then we'll do that," he said. "Clearly, they wouldn't have a lot of faith in the property. They won't be expected to move back into it."

He said he was not aware of family's claims they had complained more than once about short-circuiting.

Mr Bunko said open circuit neutrals were less common in new houses because they had a lot of plastic pipework.

"If you do get electric shocks off taps or you notice that your lights are dimming for no good reason, then you need to report it to the network operator," he said.

— with AAP