Residents in sections of Buckleys, Antigua, faced a prolonged disruption to essential services on Wednesday following a significant infrastructure incident. A concrete mixer truck collided with a critical utility pole shortly before noon, triggering a cascade of electrical failures throughout the neighborhood.
The Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) confirmed the accident occurred at approximately 11:33 a.m. along Buckleys Line, impacting the corridor from the Buckleys Line Roundabout to the southern precincts of Island Academy. The force of the impact caused the Belmont No. 2 feeder to automatically trip as a safety precaution, instantly cutting power to the surrounding area.
While APUA’s Electricity Business Unit managed to re-energize the main feeder by 12:43 p.m., a specific segment of Buckleys remained deliberately isolated and without electricity. Authorities cited ongoing safety concerns as the primary reason for the selective outage, noting that the damaged pole remains unstable with the heavy vehicle still entangled.
Full restoration efforts are currently in a holding pattern, contingent upon the safe extraction of the concrete truck. APUA engineers have outlined a two-phase operation: first, the careful removal of the vehicle to prevent further structural damage, followed by the complete replacement of the compromised utility pole. The authority has publicly apologized for the inconvenience and acknowledged the patience of affected residents, assuring the community that work will commence immediately once the site is deemed safe for crews to proceed.