Electrical Accident at Gemini North Closes Road, Injury Minor

When performing electrical troubleshooting at Gemini North telescope facility on Wednesday, February 26, one of our electrical specialists accidentally contacted a powered circuit and received an electrical shock. He was evacuated and evaluated at the nearest medical facility, and he has been released and advised that he could go back to work.

We are very happy that our specialist is safe and in good health condition. Gemini wants to thank the Mauna Kea site team for their quick reaction implementing the evacuation protocol, and we also want to thank Mauna Kea Support Services for supporting the emergency response and blocking the traffic to the summit until the emergency evacuation vehicle arrived safely at Hale Pohaku mid-level facilities. Consistent with Gemini’s core value of nurturing safety of people in all our actions, the safety investigation was completed shortly after the incident, and we are already implementing all recommended actions to prevent reoccurrence of similar incidents.