An Illinois man was killed after coming into contact with a live power line near his Belleville home Wednesday.
Crews found the man at about 5:30 p.m., about 90 minutes after storm sirens sounded in southern Illinois, according to Belleville Fire Chief Tom Pour.
The man had been in the alley behind his home trying to remove downed tree limbs that fell onto his rear garage. He did not realize that power lines had fallen with the limbs, according to NBC 5 affiliate KSDK.
The man, whose identity has not yet been revealed, was electrocuted while trying to work through the debris, fire officials said.
He was still on the wires when officers arrived to the home, KSDK reports, before being pronounced dead on the scene.
A line of storms moved across Illinois on Wednesday evening, causing flash flooding and downing trees and power lines. As many as 63,000 electricity customers were without power statewide.
