'X-Files' Accident Leaves 1 Dead, 6 Injured

L O S  A N G E L E S, Aug. 1 -- A member of The X-Files production crew was electrocuted and six others injured in a freak accident on the set.

The tragedy occurred Monday when a power line struck a scaffolding, sending a 4,800-volt charge through the 15-foot-high structure. Jim Engh, one of six people working on the scaffolding, died of cardiac arrest. The five others on the structure and one person on the ground were also injured, one critically.

“It charged the entire scaffolding,” Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells said.

Wells said it was not clear how the power line came into contact with the scaffolding, which was set up at the back of a three-story apartment building in Los Angeles. But officials are already asking questions.

Deadly Combination

The scaffolding was set up for a scene, a metal skeleton next to an apartment complex — and right next to power lines.

It turned into a deadly combination when a worker hit the lines with a metal pole.

City officials say the film crew had no business setting up where they did.

“Obviously it was dangerous,” said Mark Hollister of the city’s Department of Water and Power. “There were 7 injuries, one of them a fatality. It just goes to show that it’s a dangerous situation that can be eliminated, can be mitigated if the proper steps are taken.”

Utility crews say they can move power lines if they’re contacted.

As a result, the accident has already caught the attention of both the state’s OSHA inspectors and the district attorney’s office.

“The district attorney’s office has an environmental crimes investigation unit, and we roll on all incidents where there is a person injured seriously or there’s a death,” said Tom Simpson, an investigator with the D.A.’s office.

The investigation will likely center on the scaffolding, and why it was set up so close to the deadly power lines.

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