14 Jun 2018

Hamilton power outage: Worker receives burns

2:21 pm on 14 June 2018

Nearly 200 properties in central Hamilton lost power this morning following reports of a man cutting through a power cable on Victoria Street.

Hamilton Theatre proposed site, Victoria Street

Victoria Street, Hamilton. Photo: RNZ / Andrew McRae

WEL Networks staff are currently investigating the cause of the outage which affected 170 properties at the south end of Victoria Street between Garden Place and Grantham Street.

It said that one of its staff members received burns after working at the site this morning.

WEL Networks said the person was taken to hospital but had since been discharged.

Network spokesperson Mat O'Neill said some areas including the Riverview Apartment block remained without power as repairs continue.

He said the cause of the outage was unknown and they were continuing to investigate.

Police said they received reports of a man cutting through a main power cable on Victoria Street just before 9am.

They said he had moderate injuries with electrical burns to his hands.

It's not known whether the two events are related at this stage.