A man who cut into an 11,000-volt line in an alleged attempt to steal copper in Toowoomba is in hospital in a critical condition.
Emergency services were called to a service station on Tor Street in Newtown about 3am today following reports that a 31-year-old man had significant burns to his chest and face.
A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson said the man was taken to Toowoomba Hospital in a “potentially life-threatening” condition.
The man allegedly used this knife to cut into the copper wires at the substation in Newtown, Toowoomba. (Supplied)
An Ergon Energy spokesperson told the ABC the man was allegedly attempting to use a knife to cut copper from a feeder pit on Ascot Street in Newtown when he received the high-voltage shock from the underground cable.
The spokesperson said there would have likely been an explosion that would have created an airborne fireball about 2 metres in diameter.
“The person is lucky to be alive,” he said.
“That fireball is hotter than the surface of the sun.”
Police investigation launched
Queensland Police Service is investigating the incident after being called to the service station at 4:30am.
As part of the investigation, officers found the man at Toowoomba Hospital in a critical condition.
Police believe that, after the man was seriously injured at the substation on Ascot Street, he managed to make his way 250m to the service station on Tor Street to call for help.
Police continue their investigation at the Ergon Energy site in Newtown, Toowoomba. (ABC Southern Qld: Kristina Harazim)
Southern Region Acting Assistant Commissioner Doug McDonald said police were yet to speak to the man as he remained in hospital.
“I just can’t understand the thinking behind someone to go in with a knife and try to cut a live electrical cable, it’s just the height of stupidity,” he said.
Acting Assistant Commissioner McDonald said metal theft, and in particular copper, was a significant issue for police across the state.
“We’re putting significant resources into looking at not only those people stealing that but also buying that material because this is an absolute scourge and people are putting themselves at risk,” he said.
“We’re doing everything we can with our partners to prevent this sort of offending but these people are just taking completely unnecessary risks and putting themselves in danger and others.”
The man allegedly broke into the Ergon Energy site on Ascot Street in Newtown, Toowoomba. (ABC Southern Qld: Kristina Harazim)
Change in copper wiring policy
The spokesperson added that the “unfortunate thing about the situation” was that the wire the man allegedly tried to cut was aluminium, not copper”.
“Unfortunately, someone may have ended up with threatening, permanent injuries for a bit of aluminium, which is [worth] virtually nothing.”
Ergon Energy spends about $4.5 million a year in Queensland because of copper thefts and has plans to replace all wires with aluminium during upgrades.
About 800 Ergon Energy customers in Newtown were without power for a few hours after the incident.