12.06.2014

Virginia utility worker shocked

A utility contractor employee suffered serious burns on Tuesday after he and the work platform he was using touched a live overhead power line in Ivy, Virginia.

The emergency services rescued him with a fire ladder, once they had cut the power supply to the area and made sure that no residual current was present.
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The stricken man is rescued

Witnesses say that there was a huge flash that knocked out some of the power and caused the truck mounted aerial device to catch fire. The man seemed to be caught up in the power lines, but regained consciousness before the fire crew arrived. He was said to have received burns to 30 percent of his body.

The man was installing fibre optic cabling for a phone company when he inadvertently touch the power line. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is investigating.