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Flashback: 50 years ago in Powell River

The photo above and article below were published in the Powell River News on April 9, 1970.
50 years ago in Powell River
STARTING OVER: Big zeroes on the MacMillan Bloedel accident board tell the tale. Five workmen were injured in an accident Monday morning when an electrical substation panel flashed. Powell River News photo, April 1970

The photo above and article below were published in the Powell River News on April 9, 1970.

Mill mishap injures five

Five MacMillan Bloedel employees are in fair condition in Powell River Hospital with burns to their faces and bodies following an unexplained accident in an electrical substation.

A spokesman from the mill told The News the five were standing in front of the electrical panel, known as Substation 9 behind groundwood mill No. 4, when the panel flashed. The men were burned by the flash.

He said the cause of the accident was unknown and MacMillan Bloedel engineers were investigating.

“The men were not working on the equipment at the time,” the spokesman said.

They were apparently grouped in front of the panel, which is about three and a half feet wide, when the flash occurred.

There was no fire involved, except for a few circuits and some clothing which were reported as, “smouldering.”

Hospital spokesman said, the five were in fair condition with burns to their bodies and faces.