Boy Scout Jamboree documents released
Three witnesses to the electrocution of four National Scout Jamboree leaders did not recall any signs warning of high-voltage power lines in the vicinity, according to investigative documents released earlier this month.
However, a photograph included in the documents shows the presence of a sign, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. And one Boy Scout from the Western Alaska troop said he noticed the overhead electrical lines before a metal tent pole touched them on July 25, 2005, the first day of the quadrennial event at the U.S. Army's Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County, Virginia.
"We did not think about them," the youth said in a sworn statement.
The Army released the documents this month in response to The Times-Dispatch's continued federal Freedom of Information Act request for materials from the military's criminal investigation into the accident. The Army previously found no criminal wrongdoing arising from the accident.
The supporting documents, which include accounts from witnesses and emergency personnel, also detail the severity of the injuries sustained by the Western Alaska leaders. Witnesses say the four adult leaders were electrocuted when the center pole of a large canopy they were helping a contractor erect touched overhead power lines.
Boy Scouts of America officials say the organization provides individual troop leaders with a diagram suggesting how tents can be placed but that individual troop leaders decide where to put tents within their campsites.
Federal OSHA cited Tents & Events for two "serious" workplace-safety violations; the company paid $3,000 in fines. OSHA officials also said they would have cited the Boy Scouts of America for a violation if any of the Alaska Scout leaders had been employed by the organization. OSHA said it found "significant" safety concerns with the Boy Scouts of America.
However, a photograph included in the documents shows the presence of a sign, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. And one Boy Scout from the Western Alaska troop said he noticed the overhead electrical lines before a metal tent pole touched them on July 25, 2005, the first day of the quadrennial event at the U.S. Army's Fort A.P. Hill in Caroline County, Virginia.
"We did not think about them," the youth said in a sworn statement.
The Army released the documents this month in response to The Times-Dispatch's continued federal Freedom of Information Act request for materials from the military's criminal investigation into the accident. The Army previously found no criminal wrongdoing arising from the accident.
The supporting documents, which include accounts from witnesses and emergency personnel, also detail the severity of the injuries sustained by the Western Alaska leaders. Witnesses say the four adult leaders were electrocuted when the center pole of a large canopy they were helping a contractor erect touched overhead power lines.
Boy Scouts of America officials say the organization provides individual troop leaders with a diagram suggesting how tents can be placed but that individual troop leaders decide where to put tents within their campsites.
Federal OSHA cited Tents & Events for two "serious" workplace-safety violations; the company paid $3,000 in fines. OSHA officials also said they would have cited the Boy Scouts of America for a violation if any of the Alaska Scout leaders had been employed by the organization. OSHA said it found "significant" safety concerns with the Boy Scouts of America.
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