Man injured by collapse of fence
AN investigation is underway after barrier fencing yesterday fell onto a contractor along a busy Gold Coast road when a helicopter landed nearby.
The man was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital with a laceration to his forehead after about 100 metres of barrier fencing fell over “like dominoes.”
It is understood the contractor was standing close to the Nerang-Broadbeach Road barrier next to Carrara’s Metricon Stadium when a Westpac helicopter, belonging to the emergency services hangar nearby, landed. The wind from its rotor blades blew the fence over.
It is believed the barriers did not have any water inside them at the time and were not fixed down by brackets.
A Commonwealth Games Corporation spokesman said they were investigating the matter with workplace safety authorities.
“We have requested our contractors assure us as a matter of urgency compliance with all fencing safety regulations,” he said, adding the fence had been reinstated in the meantime.
A witness who was driving past the sports stadium as the fence fell said at least 100 metres of fencing “toppled like dominoes”.
“This massive section of the fence just came crashing down. There (were) ambulances, police and choppers everywhere.”
A spokesman from Surf Life Saving Queensland, whose helicopter landed in the field, said they were aware of the incident.
“The fencing had been set up independently of SLSQ and the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter Service (WLRHS) as part of traffic management ahead of the Commonwealth Games,” he said.