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A man is seriously ill in Waikato Hospital after he received a 110,000 volt shock while working on powerlines at Putaruru this afternoon.
The 55-year-old Rotorua man was rushed by paramedics to Putaruru before Westpac Trust Waikato Air Ambulance staff airlifted him to Waikato Hospital shortly after 2pm.
It is unclear how the man, who suffered burns to 30 per cent of his body, sustained his injuries.
Putaruru police thought they were attending a fatal accident.
"But obviously he's survived...he's a very lucky man," said a spokesman.
Waikato District Health Board spokeswoman, Mary Anne Gill, said the man was in the hospital's high-dependency unit in a serious condition.
