QLD: Two Contractors Die from Electric Shocks
Two electrical contractors have died from electric shocks in Townsville over the past two weeks.
The deaths prompted a warning from one Townsville electrician who said such tragedies were inevitable because cyclone damage had made many buildings treacherous.
Attempts were made by ambulance officers to save a man 50s who suffered an electric shock while working on airconditioning ducting at the Landmark building in Garbutt.
Police believed exposed electrical wires touching metal framework caused the incident.
A QAS spokeswoman said crews performed CPR but he was unable to be revived.
Queensland Police media said a report would be prepared for the coroner, with Workplace Health and Safety to investigate.
In a separate incident, a 23-year-old man also died after spending a week in intensive care following an electric shock at a business at Bluewater Park last Wednesday.
Queensland Health refused to comment on the man's cause of death.
Electrical contractors are now urging one another to take special care working with wiring, especially on damaged buildings.
Electrician John McLean of Arawa Hay Electrical said deaths in his line of work were inevitable.
"If you're playing with fire you may get burnt, that's the reality," he said.
Mr McLean has been an electrician for the past 24 years and said these two tragedies highlight the dangers workers face everyday.
"Caution should always be of the utmost importance, especially when working on cyclone-damage buildings" he said.
