A man was nearly electrocuted to death after being hired to hang Christmas lights on a large tree in Massachusetts, police said.

The incident occurred on Wednesday at approximately 10 a.m. when the Wellesley Police Emergency Communications Center received a 911 call reporting a man had possibly been electrocuted on Falmouth Circle in Wellesley, according to a statement from the Wellesley Police Department.

“The victim, a contractor hired by a resident, was installing holiday lights on a large tree using a pole,” authorities said. “It appears that the pole being used came into close proximity, or contact with, a primary electrical line on a utility pole. The victim appears to have then received a life-threatening electrical shock.”

The man who suffered the electric shock immediately fell unconscious, appeared to be having a seizure and had stopped breathing, police said.