Police have declared a major incident after an electrical engineer was killed in a horror crash near Rochdale which left thousands of people without power.
Officers were called out to Featherstall Road, in Littleborough, at 11.47am today (October 17) following reports of a road traffic collision.
Emergency services rushed out to the scene, where two electrical engineers who had been working on the pavement were found seriously injured.
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Despite the best efforts of emergency services, one of the engineers - a man aged in his 30s - was later pronounced dead at the scene.
His family have been informed and are being supported by specialist officers, Greater Manchester Police says.
A second man in his 20s has been taken to hospital in a serious condition.
Initial police enquiries have established that a vehicle had come off the road and collided with the victims. No arrests have been made.
The collision also affected power supplies for many residents and businesses in the area, and GMP has declared a major incident.
Superintendent Arif Nawaz, GMPs tactical commander, said: "This has been a terrible incident and our thoughts are very much with the family and friends who have lost their loved one in tragic circumstances.
"As a result of this incident, around 2000 homes and businesses in the area were without electricity for around four hours and a major incident response was declared.
"Electricity North West have confirmed at 6.20pm this evening that only around 60 properties are now affected by the power outage which is due to be resolved within the next couple of hours.
"GMP have been working together with the local authority and other partner agencies to support those who are most vulnerable in this situation. Emergency services remain at the scene and Featherstall Road remains closed."
Residents living opposite to the roadworks on Featherstall Road told the Manchester Evening News about the horror which unfolded.
One resident, who gave her name as Jess, said: "I didn't see it, but I heard it. There were just people screaming - it was not very nice.
"I knew one guy had died - I saw his body being brought out. It was just horrendous."
Andy Payton, another neighbour, added: "About five minutes [after the crash] there was a lot of panic going on. The ambulance came really quickly."
Residents who spoke to the M.E.N. all shared the same concerns about road safety on their stretch of Featherstall Road, explaining that this was the third crash in the area in just a few weeks.
Susan Ward, who says she previously had two cars written off outside her home and now no longer parks there, said: "I didn't see what happened but I could hear that the road was silent - so I knew that something bad had happened.
"It's really sad - people are losing their lives. We really need something [to improve safety]."
Details on what led to the collision have not been confirmed by authorities.
A spokesperson for Electricity North West added: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm that the serious road traffic incident in Littleborough this afternoon has resulted in the fatality of one of our colleagues, and injury to another, who were working on site.
"Customers’ power supplies were removed in the area for safety reasons while we supported emergency services.
"Our thoughts are with our colleagues’ families and friends at this tragic time.”
Anyone with information, or anyone who may have dash cam footage of the collision is asked to contact GMPs Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 0161 856 4741, quoting log number 1338 of October 17, 2021.
