SKOWHEGAN, Maine (From news reports) -- A worker was electrocuted by machinery at a Somerset County paper mill Thursday morning, Aug. 13, officials confirmed.

First responders were called to the mill just before 10 a.m. for a report of a male employee who was unconscious and not breathing after being shocked while working on a machine at the Somerset Sappi mill, Skowhegan fire Chief Ryan Johnston said.

"I can confirm an adult male was electrocuted, but I don't know his condition at this time," he said.

A LifeFlight of Maine helicopter was initially en route to airlift the victim to a Bangor hospital, Johnston said, but the man's condition was stable enough that he was instead transported to the nearby Redington-Fairview General Hospital by ambulance.

A company spokesperson confirmed a worker was injured in an "electrical incident" and said the man was in stable condition.

"Our on-site emergency response team provided immediate care until EMS arrived," Sappi communications director April Jones said in an email. "Our team contacted his family, who are with him now as he was transferred to (Maine Medical Center) in Portland."

Counseling services will be made available for workers who witnessed the incident, Jones said.

Sappi North America, a Boston-headquartered subsidiary of South Africa-based Sappi Limited, operates the Somerset Mill. About 780 employees work at the mill, which is off U.S. Route 201. In addition to the Somerset Mill, Sappi operates mills in Westbrook; Cloquet, Minnesota; and Matane, Quebec.

The Somerset Sappi mill has seen a number of safety incidents in recent years. A company that contracts workers at the mill was fined around $13,000 last year after a worker fell some 40 feet while on the job. A large fire there in January last year took several hours to extinguish.

Still, Johnston said his department had received fewer calls for service at the mill in 2026 than in 2025.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which investigates serious workplace safety incidents, did not immediately respond Thursday to questions about whether it was aware of or looking into the electrocution at the mill.

Business appeared to continue as usual at the mill after the incident.

By 11:45 a.m., emergency vehicles had cleared the parking lot while workers' cars remained. Semis continued driving in and out of the facility during and after the incident. At least one driver was summonsed by police after refusing to pull over for responding firefighters, Johnston said.