Earlwood, Australia

April 2018 Earlwood, Australia

An incident in southwest Sydney in April 2018 provides a sober reminder that electrical hazards can affect not just site workers but also the public in the site vicinity. A crane operator was unloading a truck on an Earlwood worksite earlier this year when the boom of the crane struck a high voltage power line. The impact caused the high voltage line to fall over, and the live lines fell onto a ute which was occupied by a man unrelated to the worksite.

The crane operator was left in a critical condition as the electrocution was so severe he experienced cardiac arrest, and his heart had to be restarted by paramedics. The paramedic arrived just six minutes after the emergency call was made, saving the operator’s life.

The second man was trapped in his ute for several hours waiting for the lines to be de-energised. He was found to be uninjured when assessed by paramedics.

Lifting Matters was unable to uncover further detail on the incident, including information on the findings of the incident investigation. Photos of the site indicate a failure to establish an exclusion zone around the power lines may have been a contributing factor. 