28.11.2013

Lucky shock escape

A man was resuscitated on Monday in the town of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia after he came in to contact with overhead power lines while using a truck mounted lift.

The 50 year old was working for the utility company Powercor and operating one of its lifts alongside a job site at Plinius Engineering. After he was treated he was rushed to a local hospital, his condition is said to be stable.
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The scene on Monday after the shocked man was dispatched to hopsital

WorkSafe and police were on the scene interviewing witnesses. A WorkSafe spokesman said: “Investigators are continuing to make inquiries into the incident. A 50 year old male worker was undertaking electrical work and was working on an elevated platform which came into contact with the power line.”

Vertikal Comment

It never ceases to amaze how even experienced operators, as one has to assume this man was, still set up too close to power lines, or in the case of working on them make a mistake. In this case the man was extremely lucky to have escaped with his life. Possibly due to the fact that the lift was at least designed for the job - although the unit used looks to be too big for this specific job.