OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14518898

ROLLER BROS CIRCUS

SPRINGHILL, LA— 1984-04-17T00:00:00

Event: BURN,AMUSE PARK/CARNIVAL,OVERHEAD POWER LINE,ELECTRICAL,ELECTROCUTED,ANIMAL HANDLER,METAL POLE,ELECTRIC SHOCK,E GI IC
NAICS: 000000
Inspection type: Accident-driven
Activity number: #1384817
Employer profile: ROLLER BROS CIRCUS
Summary number: 14518898
Report ID: 625700

Event description

ELECTRIC SHOCK - CONTACT WITH OVERHEAD LINE THRU METAL POLE

Investigation abstract

Two circus employees (an elephant handler and another worker) were erecting the main tent pole for the circus. They were using an 1800-kilogram elephant to rais e the pole. They had attached a heavy chain and a metal harness to the elephant and the pole. The elephant handler held the chain, and the other employee held o nto the pole. The top section of the steel tent pole contacted an 8000-volt over head power line. The elephant handler and the elephant were electrocuted. The se cond employee received an electric shock and was knocked to the ground. He suffe red burns to his back and arms. He was hospitalized for his injuries.

Victims (2)

#1 Fatality Age 23 M

Nature of injury
10

Part of body
4

Event type
13

Source
15

Occupation code
487

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
13

Task assigned
1
#2 Hospitalized Age 21 M

Nature of injury
10

Part of body
4

Event type
13

Source
15

Occupation code
999

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
13

Task assigned
1

Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.