黑洞社区

Balfour Beatty has carried out a safety investigation after a worker cut through a live cable while working on its Crossrail station project at Whitechapel, east London.

Crossrail and Balfour Beatty confirmed an investigation had taken place after a worker cut through a 110v temporary power cable on 8 December.

An on-site source, speaking to 黑洞社区, claimed the worker was employed by Balfour Beatty鈥檚 civil engineering arm and cut through the live cable without following correct safety procedure, including carrying out a risk assessment.

The source claimed: 鈥淸The worker that cut the cable] blamed the electricians for not isolating the power but he never checked himself.

鈥淚f someone says the cable is dead you always check yourself. Everyone knows that it is an unwritten law drummed into you as an apprentice.鈥�

The source also claimed that an electrician that reported the incident was transferred to another Balfour project unrelated to Crossrail, which he said upset fellow electricians.

Balfour confirmed the worker who raised concerns was transferred to another project, but said this was due to 鈥渢emporary labour shortages鈥� and was 鈥渘ot linked to the incident of the 8 December鈥�, adding: 鈥淗e will be returning to Whitechapel in the New Year鈥�.

Balfour is building Whitechapel Crossrail station (pictured) in a joint venture with Morgan Sindall and Vinci.

A Balfour spokesperson said: 鈥淎lthough nobody was injured, immediate action was taken and an investigation commenced.

鈥淗ealth and safety is of paramount importance to Balfour Beatty and as a result of this investigation, appropriate action has been taken to reaffirm safe working practices on site.鈥�

A Crossrail spokesperson said: 鈥淲e are aware of the incident where a low voltage temporary power cable was cut at Whitechapel on 8 December.

A full safety investigation has been carried out by the contractor and the importance of safe working in these situations has been clearly reiterated.

鈥淓veryone working on the project is actively encouraged to report incidents and near misses to make sure that lessons can be learnt.

鈥淐rossrail has a good safety record and sets the most stringent contractor safety requirements in the industry. There is nothing so important on Crossrail that it cannot be done safely.鈥�