A teenager appears to be lucky to be alive although he remained stuck after climbing a power pylon in Christchurch on Friday evening.
Just Perfect Detailing owner Josh Phillips was nearby as emergency services arrived and believes the teenage boy climbed the pole before grabbing the live wires.
“He’s sweating, and he’s got quite bad burns, there’s red all over him. His shorts have disintegrated literally, and there were burned bits of fabric underneath the power line he climbed. His arms and legs are charred, and he’s complaining he can’t feel his legs and that he’s cold.”
This happened last night, but the article doesn’t seem to have been updated (as of posting) this morning with any resolution.
Dumbass is lucky to be alive. This is the kind of story I’d expect from Florida.
I’ve been a young dumb teenager but there has to be something else here. Probably did it hoping he wouldn’t survive.
There’s more pleasant ways to go that are near instant. Getting electrocuted especially on infrastructure around a few kV or lower is a slow death and everything will contract as hard as possible so it’ll hurt the entire time you’re dying.
Source: work in the power industry and in the past researched exiting methods when my mental health was much worse than it is now.
P.S. For those who need to hear this: Please don’t go for a permanent solution for temporary problem(s). Though you may not feel it, we are happy that you are with us and we do care about you. There could be things about yourself or your situation you don’t like. Accept where you are now, forgive your past self, then reach out for help. Professional help but also to friends and family depending on who is available to you, you’re not a burden or an inconvenience, and it’s not weak to ask for help it’s the strongest thing you can do. Then unpack those problems with your help and work through them at your own manageable pace. It’s fucking hard, but it can get easier. I have faith in you. Good luck and take care.
Yeah on a list of ways to go, being electrocuted by a pylon is definitely not near the top of my list.
Its good to hear you are in a better place these days.
Yeah I’ve seen grainy videos from CCTV cameras that were scary or downright horrifying.
I’ve also heard stories from other engineers of going into a substation switch room after a flashover: panels blown apart, debris and melted twisted metal everywhere, millions in damages, and a lone charred outline on a wall.
Thanks mate I appreciate it.
Well at this point, Christchurch IS the Florida of NZ.
