Dad-of-two swept to his death in swollen river trying to fix telephone line

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Telecoms giant Openreach Limited has been fined £1.34 million after an engineer lost his life whilst trying to repair a telephone line near a swollen river.

Dad-of-two Alun Owen, 32, tragically died after he slipped and fell into the River Aber in Abergwyngregyn and was swept away on October 6, 2020.Alun, also known as “Al Bonc”, has been described by his family as a ‘loving and selfless character’.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) probe found that he should never have been put in the "unsafe working position". Openreach Limited pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at work Act 1974 and was fined £1.34 million and ordered to pay costs of £15,858.35 at Llandudno Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, June 5, reports Wales Online.The investigation by HSE and North Wales Police, discovered that a number of Openreach engineers had been attempting to repair the telephone lines, which ran across the river, for two months before the tragedy.

Both had been working nearby, and in the river.The probe found that at the time of the incident, there had been flooding in the area which meant the river was much higher and faster flowing than normal.It also reported that on the day of the incident, Mr Owen entered the water and made his way to an island in the middle of the river in order to try and throw a new telephone cable across to the other side by taping it to a hammer and then throwing the hammer.