A MIGRANT worker who was electrocuted when his tipper truck struck an 11,000 volt cable at an industrial yard been in the country for a matter of days, it has emerged.
The 27-year-old Romanian was killed when the vehicle struck the cable at Humbie Holdings, near near Kirknewton, West Lothian, on Wednesday evening.
As officials from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the police began an investigation into the tragedy, it became clear the man had only arrived in the UK a few days ago.
It is understood the tipper bed of the vehicle was raised when it collided with the cable.
The victim, who has not been named, who was at the wheel and is believed to have been unhurt at the initial contact, but he was electrocuted as he tried to exit the cab of the vehicle while the tipper was still in contact with the live cable.
The man was found on the ground close to the truck where paramedics tried in vain to save him. He was declared dead at the scene.
The site is a yard used by a construction firm for storage, with piles of piping, concrete blocks, rubble, tyres and pieces of plant spread across the yard.
An ambulance was called immediately after the incident, with police and fire brigade following shortly after.
ScottishPower engineers arrived and isolated the power supply to the cables that the tipper crashed into as power was still flowing through them when emergency services arrived.
It is thought there have been previous incidents involving power lines, although locals claimed there had been no injuries or fatalities.
One resident, who asked not to be named, said: "This is the third time our power has been off after the power lines there have been hit.
"They have been filling in the land using rubble. It is a terrible tragedy."
A source close to the investigation added: "It appears they have been using rubble from other sites to fill in a gully close to the line.
"The tipper has struck the line at the low point between two poles that are of different heights.
"There is evidence on the cables that these have been broken before and had to be repaired."
"It is understood that there have been two previous incidents of a similar nature in the last few years."
Police Scotland said a report would be sent to the Procurator Fiscal once their investigation is complete.
A spokesman said: "Police in West Lothian were called to Humbie Holdings farm near Kirknewton at around 5:50pm on Wednesday following the sudden death of a 27-year-old man.
"Officers and the Scottish Ambulance Services attended however, despite best efforts of paramedics, the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
"There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal."
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "We received a call to an address in the Kirknewton area around 5.45pm.
"Two ambulances, a paramedic response car, a specialist operations resource team and a manager attended."
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service added: "We received a call at 5.48pm from the Ambulance Service.
"One appliance was deployed as a casualty had hit a power line with his vehicle.
"Police took control of the incident and Scottish Power were also on the scene.
"We were there to provide back up but did not need to get involved in the incident.
A Health and Safety Executive spokeswoman
added that it was aware of the incident and would be liaising with Police Scotland as their investigation progresses. Police remained on the scene last night as investigations continued.
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