Falling gate crushes girl's leg

Two children were injured in the incident. Photo / Thinkstock

Two children were injured, one seriously, after a 100kg gate fell on top of them while they were playing at a Porse caregiver's home this week.

One of the children, a 4-year-old Glen Eden girl who was believed to be into only her second day with the caregiver, was badly injured.

Both her tibia and fibula bones broke through the skin of her leg and it's understood doctors initially described the incident as being very near to a "potential fatality".

The other child, the daughter of the caregiver, was not as badly injured. It's not clear if she required any medical treatment.

The accident happened on Tuesday afternoon in West Auckland when the two children were playing on a sliding gate that came off its track and fell on them.

The 4-year-old underwent surgery on Tuesday night and remains in Starship Hospital in a stable condition. Her long-term prognosis is not clear.

Porse is an acronym for Play Observe Relate Support Extend. Its Henderson area team coach Angela Robinson said the caregiver was "devastated" that a child in her care had been injured. Support was now being offered to both her and the family of the injured girl.

"Everyone's focus is on the children that were both injured, one more seriously than the other."

Ms Robinson said the incident was being treated as an accident and the caregiver remained at work and caring for children, although she had taken this week off as she was so upset at what had happened.

"It's an accident, if you could prevent it of course [you would] - no one wants gates falling off their hinges - [but] it was an unexpected, unplanned, unfortunate accident."

"You can blame the gate and that's what we are basically doing because everyone needs support to ensure these kinds of gates are not being sold as security gates, they should have a warning sign around their use."

An investigation was now under way by the home-based childcare organisation into the safety of the gate and whether there were any others out there that could put other children at risk.

Ms Robinson said it was an approved security gate and had been installed by a professional.

"We are going to be doing some investigation with the type of gate because it is a warning bell. These gates obviously aren't secure for children if they are climbing [on them]."

A Department of Labour spokesman said the accident was not believed to have been reported and inquiries were now under way into "what actions need to be taken, if any".

The incident comes six months after Porse caregiver Rachel Simons was sacked and fined by the courts for leaving a 4-month-old baby alone in a West Auckland house for more than two hours.