Safety drill mishap kills seaman

5:00 PM Update By SCOTT INGLIS

One sailor is dead and three others are in hospital after a lifeboat plunged from a ship into the sea during a routine safety drill.

The accident happened on the Danish container vessel Nicolai Maersk at the Ports of Auckland just before 8 am yesterday.

It is believed the lifeboat was being raised at the time.

The dead man, who has not been named, is from the Philippines. He was taken to Auckland Hospital with multiple injuries and later died.

Two of the three injured suffered broken bones and underwent surgery yesterday afternoon at Auckland Hospital, where their conditions were described as stable.

It was not known whether human error or equipment failure caused the tragedy.

It is second such accident in New Zealand in the past two years - a crewman died when a safety drill went wrong on the ferry Arahura in Cook Strait in May 1999.

Yesterday's tragedy happened within about 90 minutes of the Nicolai Maersk arriving in Auckland and berthing at the Fergusson Container Terminal.

Seven of the ship's crew - from the Philippines, Denmark and Poland - were in the lifeboat when it fell.

It was unclear late yesterday whether any other lifeboat drills had been held on the ship just before the accident.

The pilot boat Waitemata, with paramedics on board, helped out at the scene.

The 198.6m Nicolai Maersk, owned by Maersk Sealand line, carries cargo between Singapore and New Zealand ports.

It was to have left about 9 pm but remained in port overnight.

Maersk New Zealand managing director Flemming Gamst said the tragedy had deeply affected the company.

Maritime Safety Authority deputy director Tony Martin said an investigation could take some weeks or months.

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