Man crushed to death in elevator shaft

A man was crushed to death in an elevator shaft at a Fonterra plant in Southland today.

Ambulance staff found the man dead from a "crushing injury" in the shaft at the Edendale plant, 37km north-east of Invercargill, after they were told he was missing at 11.08am, the Southland Times reported.

The man was a contractor who had been working as part of a $212 million expansion due to be commissioned in the next fortnight, a Fonterra spokeswoman said.

"Our thoughts are with the contractor's family, colleagues and friends at this terrible time," she told the paper.

The Department of Labour is investigating.

- NZPA