Tower Climber Falls, Dies In Fiery Seattle Accident

A tower climber in Seattle fell to his death after he was electrocuted by a high-voltage power line.

Seattle Fire Department spokesman Kyle Moore said that it was unclear why the man decided to climb the 200-foot tower. Officers found a hat and a cellphone near the man’s body but no identification. He was taken to the King County medical examiner’s office to be identified.

Police spokesman Renee Witt said: “We don’t know why he climbed the tower … There’s nothing to indicate it was something other than an accidental death from trespassing.”

ABC reports that the fire department received a report earlier this morning about a transformer fire in the Fremont neighborhood. Witnesses said that they saw a bright flash, sparks, and a man’s body falling from the tower. It was too dangerous for firefighters to climb up and investigate so a helicopter was called in to examine the scene.

The helicopter spotted a body on a platform about 150 feet off the ground.

The rescue team had the power turned off so that the officers could climb the tower and retrieve the body. At about 7 am this morning, the man’s body was recovered from the tower platform and brought to the medical examiner’s office.

Peter Clarke, a spokesman for the power company City Light, said that it would take a “very determined” person to climb the tower. Still, Clarke said that the company would look into more ways to make climbing the tower “less easy.”