Boy Scouts electrocuted in deadly Texas boating accident

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There was an incident like that when I was a kid on a lake where we had a cabin. The lake level was high and a sail boat lost control and drifted or was blown where power distribution lines passed near the shore line (over the water at the time), its mast struck the overhead distribution line and two people were killed. The newspaper story reported the distribution line voltage was 4800 volts. That power line and another one that passed over a channel were moved shortly thereafter.

Reply to
Michael Moroney

Hello, and your story, while tragic, isn't anything new. There's a number of instances over the decades where a metallic conductor (antenna mast, etc) from a ground vehicle came into contact with an overhead medium voltage distribution line and people were either killed or seriously injured. In some instances where the vehicle was insulated from earth via its tires the occupant(s) was able to jump clear of the vehicle and survive. Given that many of today's MV lines on utility poles have line-to-earth potentials of 19 kV or higher, maintaining a safe clearance distance can't be overstated. Sincerely,

Reply to
J.B. Wood

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