A man was electrocuted Friday when he reached for a mango with a metal fruit picker and made contact with a high tension wire carrying 13,000 volts, according to authorities.
Brian Malone, 47, was pronounced dead on the scene near the Alexandrina Maduro Primary School in Baughers Bay.
“We saw him hanging — sticking in the tree,” said Melvin Jeffers, a station officer with Virgin Islands Fire and Rescue Services, who responded to the call. “Then we called for the electricity personnel to come turn off the power.”
Mr. Jeffers said the call came in to the fire station at 5:50 p.m.; six officers and two vehicles were dispatched. Police and EMTs arrived on the scene shortly after fire and rescue, he added.
After the power was turned off, emergency responders used a bucket lift to lower Mr. Malone to the ground, “where the undertaker declared him dead,” Mr. Jeffers said.
See the Jan. 31, 2013 edition for full coverage.