Deadly game on high voltage mast - NRK Sørlandet

the melody of “Dumb ways to die» Tiktok plays in the background of the video.

In the clip, youths are seen climbing high-voltage power poles at Froland in Aktor.

– I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so bad, it’s life-threatening, says Elisabeth VK Werdheim.

He is executive vice president for networks at Statenet, which owns the masts, and was struck by the content.

After seeing the film, they decided to file a police complaint.

– “I would like to say that we are very relieved that things have gone well with the people involved in this film,” he says.

Drag the trend too far

The video, which was released in March, was filmed by young people from Froland. NRK learns this from an unnamed source.

He posted the teenager on his profile, but later deleted it.

The TikTok trend they started is an example of people putting themselves in injured and sometimes very dangerous situations.

In this case, the outcome can be fatal.

In the text below the video, they “beat the trend” and wrote the caption #nærdødenopplesse.

– This is a game where you literally put your life on the line. You are playing with life, says Helge Torsvik, head of the investigation department at Arendal and Froland police station.

Torsvik can confirm that the police have received the report and they can see if there are grounds to continue investigating the case.

– Stupid

In the picture, one of them moves dangerously close to power lines with voltages that can reach up to 400,000 volts.

By comparison, a socket in private homes provides about 240 volts.

– Climbing high voltage masts is not a criminal offence, but it is prohibited according to their owners. At the same time, Dorsvik says, it’s foolish and especially dangerous.

In the video, the youths can be seen climbing the mast far above the ground.

– I don’t think they understand how dangerous it is. I’d like to believe they believe you won’t get hurt if they don’t make direct contact. This is probably the wrong conclusion.

Can take life from a distance

An acquaintance showed the TikTok video to the mayor of Froland Municipality, Ove Gundersen, but received no further investigation.

– This is a life-threatening game, and I strongly encourage you not to approach such masters.

He tells NRK that he does not know the rules for installing such masts and what obstacles have been created here, but hopes that the owners of the masts can clarify this.

– Powerful voltage running through wires can kill people from a distance, so I hope we don’t hear much about it.

Statnet’s managing director says the masts in Froland are marked according to regulations.

– Our masters are clearly marked “High Voltage Dangerous to Life”. We are also obliged to get it. People should also take this seriously.

He says fortunately they don’t experience incidents like this too often at their facilities, but wants to tell everyone to exercise common sense near their stations and lines for their own safety.

– It’s hard to say anything else about this video other than they’re very lucky. This borders on stupidity. They are incredibly lucky.