22 Oct 2008

Girl critical after electric shock from power pylon

3:09 pm on 22 October 2008

A teenage girl is in a critical condition after receiving an electric shock at a power substation in Nelson on Tuesday night.

Police say she climbed a security fence and a 10-metre pylon to reach live wires.

She was seen by patrons at a pub across the road when her clothes caught fire and she dropped to the ground.

Detective Senior Sergeant Wayne McCoy says the girl, 16, has been been transferred to a burns unit at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.

He described her injuries as life-threatening.

The incident caused a power blackout to several thousand houses in Nelson for up to 50 minutes.