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CCTV footage of the seconds before a Good Samaritan was electrocuted has highlighted the often invisible dangers of fallen power lines downed during storms.
The 30-year-old man was driving in Murrarie in Brisbane's east on Friday evening as a violent storm swept through the city, bringing heavy rain, hail and gale-force winds of more than 160 km/h.
The driver had stopped on the side of the road and then got out of his car to remove a large tree branch that had blown onto the road – so other cars wouldn't hit him – but was unaware that that had also knocked down power lines. .
The camera images came from a nearby company and happened to be aimed at the road.
Another nearby business had complained that trees hanging over power lines had been a hazard for years.
“(The trees) don't have a lot of good roots and there's always a lot of debris falling through here,” the business owner said. The courier post.
“When the wind picks up, branches fall down (and) many of these branches are hollow.”
The driver had stopped to clear a tree branch from the road, but he had taken electrical lines with him
Emergency services were called to Murarrie Road just after 5pm to reports an unconscious man had been found near fallen power lines.
Police said when they arrived on scene, the 30-year-old Murarrie man was located with life-threatening injuries and he died shortly afterwards.
Power lines on the street can carry a voltage of more than 1000 volts and are usually bare wire without insulation, making them extremely dangerous if knocked over.
New Queensland Premier Steven Miles said it was “tragic” and offered his condolences to the man's family.
“I would like to extend my thanks to all the SES and first responders who helped during last night's storm. They make a huge difference every time they put on those uniforms and we are grateful,” he added.
Energex also released a statement saying: 'We will now leave it to the police and authorities to investigate exactly what happened here and we will fully support their investigation where necessary.'
“Any incident like this is tragic, and the fact that it is so close to Christmas makes it even more tragic,” they said.
“Our sincere condolences go out to the family and everyone involved in this terrible incident.”
CCTV footage shows the man driving down the street, then stopping and getting out of his car to clear a tree branch from the road
Office meteorologist Shane Kennedy said Friday's destructive winds came out of left field.
“The Bureau had identified the system as a potential thunderstorm, but we certainly did not expect it to cause so much destruction,” he said.
'A Category 3 tropical cyclone needs to reach winds of 165 km/h and the winds in Archerfield are reaching 169 km/h, so we have passed that threshold.
“It's certainly stronger than normal, it's a pretty intense storm.”