Colleagues traumatised after man falls to death

Photo / Steven McNicholl

Co-workers of a man who died while working on Wellington's south coast fought desperately to save his life.

The man's employer says his colleagues are traumatised by the death and are receiving counselling.

The man was replacing a transmission line at the remote Transpower site at Oteranga Bay, south of Makara, when the working-platform machine he was on with another worker toppled down a hill yesterday morning.

The machine's basket, which the two men were tethered to, fell 8m down the hill and crushed both the workers.

One man died at the scene and the other was in a serious condition in Wellington Hospital last night.

Life Flight operations manager Dave Greenberg, one of the paramedics at the scene, said when the rescue helicopter arrived they found workers performing CPR on one of the men.

After a couple of minutes, he was pronounced dead.

Mr Greenberg said the other man, a 34-year-old Filipino, had chest and leg injuries, and was flown to Wellington Hospital.

"The co-workers were excellent - they assisted us and did CPR as best they could, while caring for the other guy. They were incredible."

The work site was closed while the Department of Labour and Electrix investigated the incident.