A man has died after he and a colleague received electric shocks from high-voltage power lines and were unable to be rescued for more than two and a half hours from a piece of machinery resembling a cherry picker.

The two men  were employed by John Holland to work on powerlines located outside Townsville when the cherry picker came into contact with the 132,000-volt lines on Saturday December 5.

The deceased  Richard Cheney, 31 of Nerang drifted in and out of consciousness prior to his death in the cherry picker. The second man, a Filipino aged 32, suffered dehydration and shock.

It is claimed the men could not be rescued sooner because they were perched in a highly specialised piece of equipment which tripped out as a result of the electric shock and could not be lowered.

The men's workmates could only watch helplessly from the ground until a suitable second piece of machinery  was sourced and rushed to the scene under police escort so the victims could be rescued.

Source: Townsville Bulletin