More than 1,000 homes in the Aberdeenshire village of Balmedie had their electricity cut off this afternoon after a helicopter scanner hit a powerline in the area.
A total of 58 postcodes were affected, with the majority of homes seeing power returning at around 3pm today.
It happened on a line near the Old School Vintage shop in the village.
Earlier this week, a survey helicopter begun its hunt for potential commercial deposits of base metals in Aberdeenshire on behalf of Aberdeen Minerals Limited (AML), including in the Balmedie area.
‘We confirm that the helicopter is safely on the ground’
However, it is unknown if it is linked to the power going down, with AML general manager, Drew Craig saying: “Aberdeen Minerals Limited is aware of an incident near Balmedie that has led to a power outage.
“Reports that this was a result of the geophysical array colliding with a powerline are being investigated by the company and its contractors. We can confirm that the helicopter is safely on the ground.
‘We’d like to apologise for any inconvenience caused’
“Flight operations have been suspended, pending liaison with the relevant authorities.”
A spokesman for SSEN Distribution said that engineers are currently working to restore power to customers, adding: “We’d like to apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank our customers for their patience as our engineers work to restore power as quickly as possible.”
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