Poor maintenance suspected in EAC fatal accident

Officials are not ruling out poor maintenance of equipment in the death of an EAC worker, who was killed in a boom lift accident Monday while trying to cut tree branches.

Giorgos Georgiou, a 42-year-old father of three, was working for the Cyprus Electricity Authority (EAC) on Monday morning in Larnaca, cutting tree branches away from utility wires in the K-Cineplex area from a boom lift raised seven metres high.

At one point, the base of the boom lift cage failed and Georgiou fell to the ground, striking his head on an outer wall outside a residential building. Georgiou was killed instantly.

A number of internal investigations were ordered on the same day following the accident, with one of them focusing on the maintenance of the boom lift.

According to unofficial findings, the bolts that were holding the base to the rest of the lift might have come loose, causing the base to collapse.

EAC has ordered 50 boom lifts to be inspected thoroughly.

The specific boom lift was bought from the United Kingdom along with many others and local reports said it had undergone maintenance in mid-May.

Investigators did not rule out questioning maintenance workers, who had a contract with EAC to keep equipment safe and in working condition.