A six-year-old was electrocuted while playing near an exposed electrical cable on Friday in Humansdorp, said Eastern Cape police.

Superintendent Priscilla Naidu said Ayabulela Vemize and his four friends were playing near a burst water pipe when the accident happened.

"A municipal official attending a meeting at the nearby caravan park noticed the boy dangling from an electrical pole."

The boy was electrocuted as the wires they were playing next to were exposed.

The local municipal electricians were contacted and the power was turned off before the child was removed.

"He was already dead when he was removed from the pole."

None of the boy's friends were injured during the incident and police have opened an inquest docket.