Praise for dead man

A young engineer killed when the bitumen tank he was working on exploded was a "really genuine fellow", say his employers.

This week's explosion at the Fulton Hogan site on the South Island's West Coast, which killed Kieran John Hudson, 21, was heard for kilometres.

E-Quip engineering head Peter Haddock said Hudson, a local and an only son, "was so good to be around".

The Department of Labour is investigating , and Hudson's death has been referred to the coroner.