POWER BOARD EMPLOYEE ELECTROCUTED

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 2859, 17 March 1925, Page 2

POWER BOARD EMPLOYEE ELECTROCUTED

AT GLEN ORO-TA. Through coming into contact with a 3,3(19 volt transmission' line al Glen Orona on Saturday afternoon, a man named Joseph Herman liine, aged 33. an employee of the Mann wn! ii-tiroiur hydro electric ) ower board, was electrocuted. Tie removed severe burns to bis right arm and right shoulder, fell from I lie pole on which lie was working - a distance of 25 feel —and died from his injuries before lie could be conveyed to the hospilal. A lady who was riding along the load noticed liine lying al Ihe foot of one of tlii* Iransmission poles and immediately summoned assistance from Mr Clave v, a neighbour. Milieu 1 In* latter arrived, be recognised liine a.- a man v ln> bad a few minutes previously .borrowed a ladder I mill Him.

Tbe injured man was quite conscious hut was sinking very fast, and all lie said wa> lo repeal: “A!y God: I'm, done.” He died while being conveyed In the hospital. The heavy momentary How of power through I lie deceased coming into contact with the wire was recorded on the automatic clocks at the Biinnylliorpe sub-station at 1.59 p.m. Trouble bad occurred on the Glen Omua section on Saturday morning—the running in the reverse direction —and the chief engineer (Mr \Y. A. Waters), the assistant engineer (Air T. Donaldson) and the foreman of the transformer gang (Air W. Inder) had the matter in hand, and had journeyed after lunch to Hie Rongotea substation to rectify the interruption. Unknown to them tlie deceased bad motored from Sanson, Ihe headquarters of his gang, evidently to finish three joints on the line near Glen Omua. and was working on the line bv himself when the current was turned on from the Rongotea sub-siation for test purposes. Tbe late Mr Mine who was a married man with two children, lived at College Terrace, Palmerston N.. and had been an empolyee of the Bower Board for the past 18 months and was on Friday appointed acting ganger in charge of the gang cow located at Sanson, and which had previously erected all the lines on the Kongoten-Glen Oroua section An inquest will be held at Palmerston N.