Construction workers begin cleaning up after a portion of one of the Sunrise Powerlink towers fell near Evan Hewes Highway this morning. (Photo Chelcey Adami) |
No one was injured as a portion of one of the Sunrise Powerlink towers fell near Evan Hewes Highway this morning.
The Sunbird helicopter being used to construct the transmission line between Imperial Valley and San Diego dropped a middle portion of one of the towers on the desert floor near the construction site at Plaster City, said Laura McDonald, director of special projects for San Diego Gas and Electric. Traffic control had been in place on Evan Hewes Highway, as is procedure whenever the Sunbird helicopter is traveling over roadways.
“Safety is absolutely paramount to the Sunrise Powerlink project,” she said. “We take this incident very seriously and are taking immediate steps to investigate what occurred today to ensure it does not happen again.
“We are thankful there were no injuries and will continue to make safety our No. 1 priority on the Sunrise Powerlink,” she added.
The Sunbird helicopter will not be used for construction of the transmission line while an investigation of what caused the incident occurs, she said.
10:16 a.m. Tuesday
OCOTILLO --- A witness account reports that a piece of the Sunrise Powerlink had fallen from a helicopter today near Evan Hewes Highway but no injuries were reported.
An official at the Imperial County Fire Station in Ocotillo said there had been no reports about any such incident but added that unless anyone was hurt firefighters wouldn't be called out.
A SDG&E spokesperson in San Diego confirmed that no injuries had been reported but will get more information about the incident as soon as it becomes available.
