Farm worker dives for his life

Picture / Gareth Hawken

Emergency service workers carry a farmhand who dived for his life when a front-end loader went over the side of a bridge and plunged towards a creek near Paeroa yesterday.

Police said the farmhand probably saved his life with his split-second decision to jump from the cab as the loader plunged 3m and flipped on to the bank.

The man's right leg was pinned under the machine for two hours while emergency services worked to free him. A heavy-lift crane was brought to the scene from Paeroa to move the loader.

The worker, in his early 30s, was flown by the Westpac rescue helicopter to Waikato Hospital with multiple leg injuries, but in a stable condition.

Constable Rodney Malone of Paeroa police said the man was "very, very lucky" and would have been crushed to death had he remained seated. "His dive saved his life, but he was stuck there."

Mr Malone said the loader went off the edge of the bridge, broke through railings and flipped down the bank.

The worker was not licensed to drive the loader and police are investigating.