A 23-year-old man was electrocuted while hanging Christmas lights in the San Francisco Bay Area city. The man, who climbed at about 60 feet up a tree, has died instantly. The accident took place in East Palo Alto Saturday.
He was attempting to throw a string of lights onto some difficult-to-reach branches and the incident occurred when the string of lights touched two power lines.
The fire department was called and arrived at the scene immediately only to find the man hanging about 60 feet above ground. The firemen couldn’t intervene and had to wait for the utility crews, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., to come and turn off the power. The fire crew managed to remove the corpse from the tree at around 2 p.m.
The local police station was also announced about the incident through a call at about 12:20 p.m. when a Spanish translator reported that a man was hanging in a tree at 2012 Euclid Ave., Menlo Park Fire apartments in the area, Schapelhouman said.
About 12,000 kilovolts of electricity have passed through the man's body, through his arm and out through an area near his knee into the tree more exactly, Schapelhouman said. When the fire crews arrived at the scene the man was reportedly fused to the tree by electricity, and smoking from his feet, Schapelhouman said.
The police officers investigating the death have identified the victim, but refused to release the name.
"This is a young man and nobody wants this type of thing during the holidays. He was just trying to make things brighter in East Palo Alto," the spokesperson said.