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Powell River teen in stable condition after severe electric shock

Two local youths air evacuated to Vancouver after incident
power accident
HIGH VOLTAGE: Emergency first responders were called out to assist two Powell River youths after they climbed a transmission tower near Duck Lake and received severe electrical shocks. Chris Bolster photo

One hospitalized Powell River teen is listed in stable condition with severe burns to more than half of his body after receiving electric shocks while climbing a transmission tower near Duck Lake.

Emergency first responders were called to a hydro-transmission tower off of Duck Lake Road near Hammil (West) Lake at approximately 8 pm Friday, June 10. Upon arrival, they found two males, 17 and 18 years old, on top of the tower, both suffering from varying degrees of burns.

“There’s no secret that this is a case of [someone] making a poor decision, but our hearts go out to him and hope for his recovery,” said Powell River RCMP constable Tim Kenning. “It’s something they should not have been doing, but no one deserves what happened.”

One of the youths had a cell phone and, despite having badly burned hands, was able to call 911 and hold his friend in place, preventing him from falling, said Kenning.

After the tower was grounded by BC Hydro with the assistance of Brookfield Renewable Power employees, Powell River Search and Rescue and firefighters from Powell River Fire Rescue and Malaspina Volunteer Fire Department were able to climb the tower, secure the youths with harnesses and lower them to the ground.

Malaspina Volunteer Fire Department chief Dave Keiver was on scene with his crew members assisting in the rescue that took over three hours to complete.

“It was very tense,” said Keiver. “If the one fellow would have let go, the other boy would have fallen.”

The boys were tucked into the structure and remained conscious, but he said it took some time to make sure the tower was safe for the rescue. Keiver said the the first youth was brought down at 11:15 pm and the second at 11:25 pm.

The youths were then air evacuated to Vancouver General Hospital. One of the youths was released the following day with severe burns to his hands, while the other remains in hospital with severe burns to his upper torso and has been undergoing a number of surgeries, said Kenning.

Brookfield spokesperson Angela Fentiman said the company’s employees, also members of the local community, have been deeply impacted by the events.

“We will continue to assist first responders in their investigation and will conduct our own investigation of the incident,” said Fentiman. “Our hearts go out to the youths and their families.”