An eavesdropper informed the wrong family that a relative of their's had died following a forestry accident today.
The worker died after being pinned under a tree in a forest near Blenheim, Marlborough.
Police said emergency services were called to a logging site at Robin Hood Bay in Port Underwood about 10am, after the worker was struck by the tree.
Search and rescue staff worked to free the man and called a rescue helicopter from Nelson but the 34-year-old died at the scene.
Police said an unauthorised person monitoring their emergency channel had "incorrectly advised a next of kin that their family member had died in this accident" before police had verified the victim's identity.
"This inconsiderate action caused a chain of events which tied up police and Victim Support services in tasks that diverted them from their other more pressing duties, relating to the accident," they said in a statement.
"More importantly the negligent behaviour of this person reacting to what he or she heard on a police scanner, caused undue stress on the family of the person wrongly advised."
The death is being investigated by the Blenheim Police, and the Labour Department.
Sergeant Michael Porter of Blenheim police said: "Colleagues in the vicinity responded quickly and co-ordinated emergency services to the site but unfortunately were unable to save the worker."
- NZHERALD STAFF
Eavesdropper tells wrong family of death
File photo.
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