Two Southern California Edison contract workers were injured on Saturday morning after an equipment malfunction resulted in an explosion in Hawthorne, according to SoCal Edison officials.
The accident occurred around 11:05 a.m. near W. 118th Street and Grevillea Avenue. The two workers, who are employees with the Asplundh Company, were installing new equipment to “increase the reliability of the grid,” said Charlie Coleman, Southern California Edison Public Information Officer.
During the installation an accident occurred and both men received a powerful shock, according to officials. The two workers were transported to UCLA Harbor General Hospital with undetermined injuries.
“I was just watching them, then all of sudden I heard a spark,” said Chuck Williams, a witness to the incident. “Then all of a sudden I heard sparks. Then all of a sudden I seen a big flame inside of the basket they was in and it went on for a while, then all of a sudden it stopped.”
The explosion caused 1,950 people to lose power throughout the afternoon. Power was expected to be fully restored by 7 p.m.
The official cause of the explosion is unknown, according to police.