A man has died after being electrocuted at the Netreg train station in Cape Town while allegedly attempting to steal overhead cables.

According to EWN , law enforcement officials rushed to the scene on Sunday after receiving a tip-off.

The City of Cape Town's law enforcement told EWN that, when officers arrived on the scene, they encountered five suspects who were busy cutting cables.

Three suspects reportedly managed to evade arrest while their two accomplices were caught.

The law enforcement unit's Wayne Dyason told EWN: "They had already cut 80m of signalling cable. The cable when recovered was still warm."

READ: Cable theft cripples public library in Cape Town

While the officers were charging the two arrested suspects at the police station, they were called back to the scene where they reportedly found another suspect. He had been electrocuted while trying to steal cables at the same spot.

He was reportedly seriously burnt and later succumbed to his injuries.

In October, a man believed to have been stealing cables on Cape Town's railway line between Nyanga and Philippi was electrocuted, News24 reported.

One month earlier, a suspected thief was electrocuted at the Westfield substation near Modderfontein.

- Compiled by Riaan Grobler