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Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Electric shock survivor warns others of power line danger following accident

Bay of Plenty Times
16 Nov, 2020 11:49 PM3 mins to read

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Bay of Plenty's Troy Hall is an electric shock survivor. Photo / File

Bay of Plenty's Troy Hall is an electric shock survivor. Photo / File

The first jolt of electricity from overhead power lines went through the right-hand side of avocado harvester Troy Hall's head – killing him.

The second jolt, right through the chest, brought him back.

"That's the one that lit me up. I was engulfed in flames for a while," he said.

"I lost sight in my left eye, lost my right ear, 60 per cent torso burns all over my body and legs, and a quarter of my face," Hall said, who is reliving his accident to educate others about the importance of staying well clear of power lines.

The 31-year-old shared his story of recovery with the Bay of Plenty Times recently and is now sharing the tale in a short film for Powerco's public safety campaign, Look Up.

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It was specifically targeted at horticultural workers in the Western Bay of Plenty where Powerco owns and operates the electricity network.

It was October 2011 when Troy received the massive electric shocks when picking avocados at height on a cherry picker in a Tauranga orchard in Matapihi.

"On the day of the accident, it was raining," Hall recalled.

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"I remember, about an hour beforehand, actually popping out through the trees and through the power lines themselves. With the attitude I had back then, [I thought] it was just like a near miss and didn't respect just how close I was at that time.

The last memory he had was popping out of the tree and blacking out.

It is understood that the metal cherry picker that Hall was working on, hit the power lines and the electricity jumped through the air to him.

Nine years on from the horrific accident, the recovery is still on-going for Hall, who has allowed for photos of his early injuries while recovering in hospital to be shown in the film as part of educating other horticultural workers.

Powerco health and safety general manager Julie McAvoy said it's a safety message that will resonate with anyone – demonstrating the power of electricity with a hard-hitting reminder of what can happen if you get too close to power lines.

"Stay safe. When working and using equipment in and around orchards, please look up before you work and keep yourself and equipment at least 4 metres away from power lines," McAvoy said.

"You don't even need to touch a power line to be in danger – electricity can jump the gap through the air to your equipment and to you. Every line must be treated as live. Always."

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