A contractor working on a Wellington wind farm did not do enough to stop a machine from falling down a steep slope, killing one of its workers, a court was told today.
Transfield Services Ltd has been defending a charge this week at the Wellington District Court of failing to protect its workers after an employee died in June last year.
Filipino father of four, Edwin Sarmiento, 42, was killed and Antonio Maniago seriously injured when a machine fell as they were lifting them to do line maintenance at the Makara site.
The men worked for Electrix, which had been hired by Transfield, when the Manitou telescopic handler toppled down a steep gully, and the men fell about 20m.
The Manitou is mainly used in agriculture and is similar to a forklift, but has a crane boom that lifts into the air.