A FATHER and son have died after a metal windmill they were moving hit a 12,500V power line.
According to WorkSafe Victoria, the electrocution fatalities occurred at around 11.45am on 16 March 2010, on a farm near Rainbow in western Victoria.
WorkSafe Victoria has despatched four inspectors to the scene. In addition to the two fatalities, another father and son suffered burns in the incident, while the property owner sustained an electric shock.
WorkSafe Victoria said the persons involved had been moving a 25 foot metal windmill using a tractor with a forklift attachment on it.
The safety organisation says according to its statistics, since 2000, eight workplace fatalities in Victoria have been caused by a vehicle or equipment coming into contact with overhead powerlines.
The most recent incident was in November 2009, where a man died in Dandenong after a hydraulic tipping trailer struck an overhead line.
WorkSafe Victoria says people working near overhead lines need to be aware of the proximity of their vehicle or equipment to the lines.
The incident takes the number of work-related deaths for March 2010 to four, and 10 for Victoria so far in 2010.
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