2 workers sent to hospital, 1 in critical condition, after electrical-hazard incident in Winnipeg

Posted on October 31, 2024 by Peggy

Two people were taken to hospital Thursday morning, one in critical condition, after a work incident involving an electrical hazard in Winnipeg’s Rossmere neighbourhood.

Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews responded to reports of an electrical hazard on Kimberly Avenue shortly before 9:30 a.m., a statement from the WFPS said. One person was taken to hospital in critical condition and the other in stable condition.

There was a “serious incident involving a member of the public making contact with electrical equipment,” Manitoba Hydro said in a statement. The person wasn’t a Manitoba Hydro worker.

Gerry Desrosiers, who lives at the Kimberly Avenue apartment complex where the incident took place, saw one of the workers getting medical treatment when he took his dogs for a walk on Thursday morning.

“I knew that they were covering the air conditioners,” he said, but he didn’t witness what caused the injuries.

The workers had started on Friday and they came back to finish things Thursday, he said.

“There was a ladder on the ground, he was on the ground, one of the workers was beside him,” he said.

Video posted to social media shows a bit of what happened.

A burst of light is seen and then what appears to be a ladder falls to the ground.

Another video shows a fire across the street at the base of a different power line.

Social media videos show workplace accident that left 2 injured

47 minutes ago

Duration 1:00

Two videos posted to social media Thursday morning show a bit of what happened at an apartment complex on Kimberly Avenue in Winnipeg, in an incident that left two people hurt. One video shows a burst of light followed by what appears to be a ladder falling, while the other shows a fire across the street at the base of a different power line.

A spokesperson for the province said Workplace Safety and Health is aware and is investigating, but didn’t have any further comment.

Desrosiers said his thoughts are with anyone who was hurt.

“It’s awful, because you hear about accidents, but when you see someone on the ground so close, it’s kind of sad, and these guys were fairly young workers,” he said.