Worker survives crushing accident
Constable Delaine Patterson, of Queenstown, said Occupational Safety and Health would investigate the accident, which happened at 1.45pm at the intersection of Camp and Beach streets.
The bucket fell about 4m from the end of an excavators %26quot;dipper arm%26quot; into the bottom of the trench where the man was working, she said.
%26quot;He was wedged between the pipe and the ditch.%26quot; Rescuers including firefighters, ambulance officers and work colleagues worked urgently to free the trapped man.
Ms Patterson understood the 26-year-old Alexandra man was given morphine while in the 3m-deep trench.
Constable Blair Duffy said the victim had to be dragged out from under the bucket but %26quot;the pipe took the majority of the weight%26quot;.
The driver of the excavator estimated the weight of the bucket at between 300 and 400kg, according to Mr Duffy.
The driver indicated the accident happened after he tried to shift a large metal cage, which was sitting on the road above the trench, Mr Duffy said.
Various buckets had been attached and removed from the excavator constantly throughout the day.
St John Wakatipu station manager Graham Sinclair said the man suffered substantial injuries to his lower left leg.
The pipelayer was taken by ambulance to Lakes District Hospital, stabilised, then flown to Southland Hospital, Mr Sinclair said.
Queenstown Lakes District Council engineering services manager Mark Kunath said the accident had happened at the site of a sewer upgrade.
%26quot;The Department of Labour has been advised and an OSH investigation will be undertaken.%26quot; The council would also conduct its own internal investigation, Mr Kunath said.
The specific site had been temporarily closed, but other work on Camp St would continue as scheduled, he said.
Yesterdays accident is the second on a council project in the past fortnight. On February 22 a worker at the Project Pure site at Wanaka Airport broke his leg when he was hit by a pipe being unloaded from a truck. The man had operations on his leg and lower back as a result of the accident, Mr Kunath said at a utilities commitee meeting on Tuesday.
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