Workmates drag lineman to safety after explosion
WORRIED FAMILY, friends and workmates gathered at hospital last night after a lineman was injured in an explosion that knocked out power to 10,000 Auckland homes.
Heroic colleagues had dragged their mate to safety after the accident, as the lights went out across a large swathe of the North Shore yesterday.
Moments earlier, the man had been standing on a ladder working on the Bayswater substation. A loud boom echoed through the neighbourhood and a smoke cloud rose into the sky.
‘‘I saw a flash. I thought something had happened in our house. There was a longer rumble sound,’’ said resident Helen Somerville.
The substation is next to the
His left hand was badly burnt and his right side looked like it had a chunk out of it. Ward Somerville
Somervilles’ property and Helen had seen the man working on a concrete portal.
Their daughter said the shock was enough to rattle her bed. Power was instantly cut to their home.
Neighbours ran outside and saw four frantic Vector workers pouring water on the victim as he lay unconscious.
‘‘Those men were brilliant,’’ Somerville said. ‘‘They just kicked into action.’’
Her husband Ward ran to the back fence to see what help he could offer. ‘‘They were just dumping water on him and stripping his clothes off.
‘‘His left hand was badly burnt and his right side looked like it had a chunk out of it. His face was also singed.’’
The injured man had been unconscious but started coming to and groaning in pain, he said.
Initially, the lineman was reported to be in a critical condition. Fearful family waited outside the operating theatre at Middlemore Hospital’s intensive care burns unit.
But last night his boss, Electrix general manager Gavan Jackson, was able to report some extraordinary good news: the injuries were to his arms, were not life-threatening and the man is expected to pull through.
Yesterday’s explosion comes four years after another accident involving Electrix staff, when two Filipino linemen were crushed by a cherrypicker while replacing an overhead wire at a Transpower site near Oteranga Bay near Wellington. One of the workers died and another was critically injured.
This weekend’s accident shut down traffic lights in Takapuna and Devonport. WorkSafe and Vector workers could be seen inspecting the substation throughout the day and Jackson said an investigation would begin next week.
A Vector power network spokeswoman said it was not yet known what caused the incident but an investigation was under way. ‘‘Our thoughts are with him, his family and his co-workers.’’