HOUSTON, Texas – An electrocuted reporter has filed a lawsuit against an energy company for allegedly failing to turn off power lines during Hurricane Harvey flooding.

A British journalist is suing Center Point Energy claiming his electrocution was preventable. According to the lawsuit, the journalist was on board a rescue boat on Aug. 28, 2017, searching for people stranded during the flooding.

While they were searching, the boat was pulled by currents toward a downed power line that was still active. Several rescuers, along with the journalist, were all electrocuted.

The journalist said he then clung to a tree for nearly 24 hours waiting for rescue.

The lawsuit states that the journalist would not have been injured if Center Point deactivated the power lines in a timely manner.

The attorney for the journalist said his client “came to Houston to help inform the world about what was happening to us. It is unfortunate that the one thing that injured him was not the hurricane or flood waters, but the negligence of Center Point and their failure to prevent a foreseeable problem.”

Spectrum News is reaching out to Center Point for comment.