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Houston man electrocuted while walking to sister’s house in Harvey’s floodwaters

“He felt the charge and knew something was wrong right away and tried to shake it off right away.”
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HOUSTON -- Across the state, families are searching tirelessly for missing relatives six days after Harvey first pummeled the Texas coast.

The Coast Guard has rescued more than 6,000 people, and Houston police and firefighters have rescued several thousand more.

But at least 37 Texans have died from Harvey's wrath.

Among the dead is a Houston man who was electrocuted while walking in floodwaters. Andrew Pasek was walking through 4 feet of water trying to get to his sister's house when he accidentally stepped on a live electrical wire.

"He felt the charge and knew something was wrong right away and tried to shake it off right away," said his mother, Jodell.

The 25-year-old quickly asked a friend to get away from him "because if you do, you know, you will go too," he told his friend.

His mother said no one tried to resuscitate him for an hour until the electricity was turned off.

"It could have been anybody," she said.

Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said Wednesday he believes the death toll will rise.

"We just pray that the body count ... won't rise significantly." Acevedo said.

But Houston received a bit of good news Thursday. The pool level at Barker Reservoir -- which officials feared would overflow -- has peaked and is going down, the Army Corps of Engineers said.

And the city's Addicks Reservoir, which was overwhelmed and caused widespread flooding this week, has also peaked. The water in that reservoir is also receding.

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