By Julie Tullberg
May 20, 2007 12:00am
Article from: AAP

A 21-YEAR-OLD man is fighting for his life after suffering an electric shock while standing in a water puddle in Melbourne's west.

The Footscray man and a friend were exploring a vacant warehouse in Barnool Ave in Yarraville when trouble struck about 7pm (AEST) yesterday.

“It appears the Footscray man climbed up onto a second-storey mezzanine floor and came into contact with bare wires from a large electrical transformer,” Victoria Police spokeswoman Sheree Argento said.

“Police estimate the man was subjected to 470 volts, made worse by the fact that he was standing in a puddle of water at the time.”

He was found 30 minutes later by his friend, a 21-year-old from Altona who had been exploring another part of the building.

“The man sustained extensive burns to his left arm and other serious injuries and was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital, where he remains in a life-threatening condition,” Ms Argento said.

Ms Argento said it was believed the men visited the warehouse after logging onto a website that urged people to explore drains and vacant buildings.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21762751-1702,00.html

Where does 470V fit into Australia's standard voltage levels?

No idea at all, voltage levels go 415 then 6600 for memory.

The Police must have had one of those cheap "Tricky-Dicky" DMM's that give you really out of wack voltage readings.
However,
What on earth are these people doing in a place like this for a start?.
Secondly, if this place was vacant, why is there live conductors in there?, wouldn't the place be disconnected?.

To Trumpy I myself I never done it but it called "Urban Exploration" People go to abandoned building and places and explore them for fun. Why I don't know here is a website with more information about it http://www.infiltration.org/, http://www.illicitohio.com/

I hope the guy gets better but I can't help but wonder if he was doing a passtime that we call "breaking and entering" or "criminal trespass".
Joe