Operation Reckless brings charges after worker dies

OFFICERS from the Guardia Civil have detained three people in Operacion Imprudente (Operation Reckless) after an incident ended the life of a worker in Nijar.

The man was perched on the top of a 14-metre high power line on the AL-2301 when he suffered an electric shock, which threw him to the ground. The injuries sustained caused his death.

The Guardia Civil officers began an investigation that analysed health and safety regulations and any lack of observance of such. The investigation included the analysis of the network, operation and distribution of stations, substations and power lines, direction of current, the different lines of tension in the area and the protocols of the company responsible for the maintenance contract.

The result of the complex and laborious investigations revealed that the deceased had failed to tie a harness to the pole and had not established the presence of voltage.

His team was arrested and charged with reckless homicide and a crime against workers’ rights by means of gross negligence because they didn’t stop the worker from climbing the pole without the correct safety measures in place.

Forty-nine-year-old MBD from Almeria City, 41-year-old AM from El Ejido and 35-year-old JMPP from Roquetas de Mar have all been passed to the Court of Instruction in Almeria for processing. The officers have not ruled out further arrests.