Christchurch man fatally injured by disk grinder

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A Christchurch man who suffered fatal injuries when the disk grinder he was using sliced into his chest has been named as John Hebden.

Mr Hebden, 64, was working in the yard of his company JT Hebden Building and Construction, in Sturrocks Rd, Casebrook, when the accident occurred just after 1pm.

Neighbour Janette Hawkins knew something was wrong when she heard another resident who was first on the scene started calling for help.

"The neighbourhood sprung into action. There was another chap over there at the time so it was his calls for help that aroused the old fella next door - I saw him running across the street.

"Apparently he was working on a trailer and the saw disintegrated and collected him,'' she said.

The grinder is understood to have sliced through the man's chest and into his heart.

A worker at a nearby business came out with a first aid kit "and that's when I heard him say `It's too late, I don't think he's made it','' said Ms Hawkins.

A neighbour called emergency services and performed CPR until the ambulance arrived, but the man died at the scene.

Mr Hebden died from "serious abdominal injuries'' resulting from a workplace accident, said police.

The government's labour department and police are investigating the incident.