Boy Survives 25,000 Volts
A Wigan teenager has lived to tell the tale after being thrown 25ft off a railway bridge by a 25,000 volt shock. Experts have said he is lucky to be alive after the accident which happened last week.
Sam Cunningham, 16, was attempting to retrieve a rugby ball when he was struck by the charge from an overhead power cable. Despite then falling unconscious onto the live tracks below, he is expected to make a full recovery from burns to his face, back, legs and arms.
Sam was still unconscious when paramedics arrived, but he was soon able to make a phone call to his mother who rushed to the scene. He said he can remember little about the accident except seeing a bright flash and then a spinning sensation and was grateful to his friends who called the emergency services, who were then able to stop trains travelling along the tracks between Wigan and Manchester.
It is thought that the boy's steel toecapped boots attracted the charge as he moved to within a metre of the overhead cable allowing it to arc and injure him. There are no indications that there were any maintenance failings that led to the accident, though British Transport Police are keen for safety messages to be reinforced to the public.
Regulations stipulate that overhead power lines should be a minimum of 5.2m high (17ft), though some of the associated equipment on the poles can be as low as 4.3m (14ft).