Energy, Latvia

The accident occurred at a 110 kilovolt high-voltage substation in the territory of Riga 1st cogeneration plant, explained Latvenergo communication officer Andris Siksnis. It is unclear at the moment if the accident was work-related or he was a victim of circumstance.

Siksnis, however, denied media reports about a blast at the cogeneration station, saying that an electric discharge, while it may sound like a blast, cannot be defined as one.

Emergency Medical Service representative Inga Vitola told LETA that the service was called to Ciekurkalns at about 10 a.m. today, where a forty-year old man sustained serious electrical injury on the job. Medical workers established that the man had suffered severe electrical burns and he was taken to Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital in serious condition.

LETA learned at the hospital that the man was in the intensive care unit and that he had suffered extensive burns and was fighting for his life.

State Labor Inspectorate has also been reported the accident, the inspectorate's representatives are currently investigating at the scene of the accident, Labor Inspectorate's representative Aivis Vincevs told LETA.

As reported, due to power outages, traffic lights and public transport operated in an on and off mode on a stretch of Brivibas Street in Riga, from the Teika neighborhood up until the "Alfa" shopping mall.