METAIRIE - Six people were hospitalized after being shocked by an electric charge while working outside of a hotel in Metairie, according to the Jefferson Parish Fire Department.
The incident occurred Thursday morning at the Hampton Inn near Causeway and Veterans boulevards.
The workers who were injured were taken to University Medical Center. The victims were said to be suffering from varying degrees of burns and electric shock, but authorities did not release additional details. All of the victims were said to conscious. Five of them were able to get themselves off of the scaffolding. One of the workers needed help.
The metal scaffolding the workers were on seemed to be perilously close to electrical wires. A piece of the metal scaffolding that was on the ground seemed to show a singe mark and gloves nearby seemed to be burned.
"It's under investigation, but we believe that's what happened," said Chief Dave Tibbetts of the Jefferson Parish Eastbank Fire Department. "One of the high-powered lines came into contact with the scaffolding or piece of the scaffolding that was being moved to build it."
Tibbetts said that one worker, possibly the one carrying a metal pole, took the brunt of the current.
“The incident took place on about the fourth floor level of the scaffolding,” Tibbetts said.