BY AUSTIN LYNCH

There was considerable traffic chaos in the Enniskillen area on Thursday as the main A32 Irvinestown to Enniskillen road had to be completely closed to all traffic for the majority of the day following a land slippage at the construction site of the new hospital.

Motorists who usually come into Enniskillen via the A32, or those who use the road to leave Enniskillen faced lengthy delays and long diversions throughout Thursday after a high voltage electricity pylon was left in a dangerous state following a landslide at the new hospital site at Wolf Lough.

According to Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE), the landslide disturbed the ground around the pylon, causing the pylon to tilt. An NIE spokesperson explained that the pylon involved is part of the existing 110kV North South interconnector, which runs between Enniskillen and Corraclassy in County Cavan.

According to a witness, cracks began to appear in the ground on Thursday morning, which continued to get worse until a land slippage occurred at approximately 8.00am on the site.

Hal Steele, NIE Safety Engineer, said the pylon was left in a hazardous condition.

"We received a report last Thursday morning that the pylon had partially collapsed following ground movement around the base of the pylon.

"As a safety precaution, the Irvinestown Road was closed by PSNI while NIE engineers carried out a safety isolation, disconnecting the circuit. Fortunately, electricity supplies in the area were not widely affected.

"NIE emergency crews arrived quickly on site to assess the damage, secure the surrounding network and remove the overhead lines. The pylon was then dismantled and emergency crews carried out safety checks on other high voltage equipment on the site."