The 10-year-old boy who was electrocuted at his family home in Rotorua has been named as Matthew Smith.
The primary school pupil is believed to have been playing with a hair dryer or straightener in the garage when he was electrocuted about 6pm on Monday.
Attempts to revive him at the Mount View Drive address were unsuccessful.
A spokeswoman for his grieving family this morning said they were devastated by Matthew's death.
"They are just getting on with mourning what has happened and would just really like to be left in peace to get through this difficult time," the spokeswoman said.
"They have plenty of support around them, both from the family and the community.
"At this stage it's in the hands of the coroner and no decisions have been made [about a funeral]."
She said it was a traumatic time for the family and they would not speak publicly about their son's death.
St John Ambulance operations team manager Darryl Stretch said the boy was rushed to Rotorua Hospital where doctors spent at least 30 minutes trying to save him.
He said the boy was pronounced dead at hospital.
"It sounds like he was playing with a hair [device], like a hair straightener, and whatever happened it electrocuted him."
Mr Stretch said when ambulance and fire service staff attended they spent about 10 minutes at the scene treating the boy.
"He was in the garage when it happened," he said.
"His mother was very distraught and so were the rest of the family."
He said they transported the boy to hospital as a status one patient, meaning in a critical condition.
Rotorua Fire Brigade senior station officer Jim Prescott said fire officers helped perform CPR on the boy but he did not show any response at the scene.
