A senior Northern Ireland coroner has urged Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster to introduce clear legislation following the electrocution of a six-year old who grabbed an 11,000-volt overhead line while climbing a tree. John Leckey said he would call for the minister to liaise with Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) and the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSE NI) at the inquest into the death of Tia Nagurski.
Following her death, principal health and safety inspector with the HSE NI, John Wright, told the inquest he had written a report into the incident. Working on behalf of the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETI) in relation to Electricity Supply Regulations, Mr Wright said he visited the scene with a Panel of Inquiry set up by NIE. He commented that the electricity line was at the same level as the top of the trees where the girl had been climbing. A five yearly tree management inspection patrol is carried out on overhead lines by NIE, at which point tree and shrubbing deemed to be hazardous is cut back. A patrol of the area in question was carried out in February 2009, and followed up by a foot patrol three months later. However, the area was not deemed to be an “immediate risk.”
Mr Wright concluded that proposed amendments should be looked at, as current legislation did not give specific instructions. Recent guidance suggested a three-metre gap between power lines and trees was a safe margin.
Roy Coulter, NIE safety group and risk manager, told the inquest that Tia had climbed to the very top of the elder tree and then touched the line. He also confirmed that the trees in that location had been cut by the Housing Executive in 2004. However, he suggested changes in policy should be implemented to remove confusion with regard to tree cutting near overhead lines.
