On April 27 a 72-year-old man was left in critical condition after the grain auger he was transporting hit powerlines at a property in Harston, south-west of Shepparton.
The man was severely shocked after the grain auger – being towed by the forklift he was standing on – hit one of the bare overhead powerlines above. The man was airlifted to the Alfred hospital, while second person driving the forklift also received an electric shock but did not require treatment.
On April 12 a crane truck offloading building material made contact with overhead 22 kV lines injuring two men, one seriously.
On Monday, a tip truck hit a high voltage conductor at Trafalgar South with the driver taken to hospital in a stable condition.
All three incidents are being investigated by ESV and WorkSafe.
“To have three in the space of 18 days is deeply concerning,” Ms Williams said.
“Anyone operating machinery such as cranes, crane trucks and tipper trucks must look up because incidents like these are preventable if operators of machinery take the proper precautions.
“They need to be aware of powerlines, particularly in rural and regional areas where single bare powerlines are often hard to see.”
In late 2020, a farmworker was killed when the extendable boom on the telehandler he was operating came into contact with overhead powerlines in north-western Victoria.
The Look Up and Live campaign has been running for almost 10 years. It calls on workers and operators of such machinery to be aware of powerlines and plan how to safely undertake their work before they begin.
For more information go to esv.vic.gov.au/campaigns/look-up-and-live
