AltaLink Incident Statement

CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - July 5, 2013) - A helicopter working in the construction of the Heartland Transmission Project has gone down near Township Road 554 northwest of Fort Saskatchewan.

There are two reported injuries resulting from the incident. A lineman in the helicopter was transported to hospital by STARS Air Ambulance. The pilot of the helicopter was taken to hospital by ground ambulance.

"Our first concern is the health of the worker and the pilot injured in this incident," said Johanne Picard-Thompson, senior vice president of projects for AltaLink. "We will begin an investigation immediately to learn what may have caused the helicopter to fail."

The Heartland line is a 500-kilovolt, double-circuit transmission line with an associated substation and an 18-km 240-kilovolt transmission connection. The 65 kilometre transmission line connects a substation in south Edmonton to the Heartland region near Fort Saskatchewan.