GPL linesman hospitalised after receiving electric shock

A linesman attached to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) is currently hospitalised after suffering from an electric shock outside Demico House (opposite the Stabroek Square), where technicians were replacing some old power poles.
The man has been identified as Nara Singh, a resident of Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara. He has been working with the power company for the past five years. The incident occurred around midday on Sunday.
Guyana Times understands that Singh, said to be in his mid-30s, was on the

ground holding some wires, which suddenly became live with current, thus pelting him a few feet backwards. He reportedly landed on his back with the wires resting across his stomach.
Singh’s colleagues were able to get the wires off his body, and he was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GHPC), where he remains unconscious.
The GPL team, approximately two dozen members, reportedly started working sometime about 10:00h on the day in question, to replace the existing poles that were beginning to rot.
A taxi driver who witnessed the incident told the Guyana Times that he was watching the men work on the two sets of poles on each side of Croal Street when he saw Singh get electrocuted.
“I stand by my car watching them men work. It had one man on the post and this man (Singh) was at the bottom… I don’t know where this current come [from], but the way it come — and he had the wire in he hand — it pitch he back, and he drop on the ground and buss he head all,” the man said.
The eyewitness went on to relate, “The wire drop pon he stomach, and all you see he left stunning pon the ground. You know how long they tek fuh pull the wire [off]. A man had to run till at the middle [of Longden Street] to get something and come and pull off the wire off he. Then a bus man pull up and they throw the man in the bus and rush he to the hospital.”
According to the taxi driver, the incident traumatised the crew members, particularly the one who was up on the pole at the time the incident occurred.

“The man stick up on the post. He ain’t touching anything, and then the current come back on the wire, they had to block off the whole street…the wire start to smoke on the ground and so,” he stated.
Guyana Times was told that the power had been cut from the wire and that it was lying on the ground for some time prior to the incident. One crew member was overheard saying that it reportedly came into contact with another live wire, thus electrocuting Singh. The man had said, too, that the current was so much that the wire had even wrapped around the linesman’s neck.
However, a senior engineer attached to the power company told this newspaper that at this time they are uncertain as to what exactly transpired, since different versions of the incident are being related by the workers who were on ground.
“We have to do an investigation, then we will know exactly what happened; because everybody in a state of shock right now…so they saying whatever coming to mind, but we have to wait and see,” the engineer said.
Meanwhile, a vendor who used to ply her trade outside Demico on Croal Street complained that there is always some issues with those poles. She recalled that a few years ago a wire had drop alongside her vending booth and burst into flames.
The woman further stated that a similar incident had occurred before, where a GPL worker was also electrocuted. “The man that de get pitch down with that wire the first time it happen, smoke come through that man ears… but that man ain’t dead,” she recalled.
As the men resumed work shortly after the incident, one of the senior officers on the ground told this newspaper that the incident had him and all the workers stressed.
“Right now we stressed out, but we still have to work,” the man said.
While the men continued their work at the head of Croal Street, over on the intersection at Brickdam and Avenue of the Republic, a tree that had been located in the compound of the St Andrew’s Kirk) had fallen out on the roadway, taking down part of the fence along with nearby power lines.
However, <<Guyana Times>> was told that the linemen were those of the Guyana Telephone Telegraph company (GTT). Although the tree had fallen since late Saturday afternoon, it could not have been removed until Sunday afternoon since it was laden with bees. The fallen tree was subsequently cut into pieces and removed. (Vahnu Manikchand)