Worker hurt in trench collapse
Emergency services have rescued and transported a drainlayer to Auckland Hospital in a critical condition following a trench collapse. Reports of the man falling into the trench on New Windsor Rd in West Auckland were received by emergency services around 1.45pm yesterday.
St John spokeswoman Beverley Tse said one ambulance and three jeeps — including a special emergency response paramedic — attended the incident.
The man’s sister told the Herald her brother was in hospital, awake and talking while waiting for a CT scan.
“He’s pretty much got two collapsed lungs, a fractured sternum, and fractured ribs,” she said.
The sister was unaware of how her brother was injured in the incident but said he worked as a drainlayer.
Police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand also attended the incident where firefighters worked to get oxygen and a stretcher into the trench.
Footage captured at the scene shows several firefighters and ambulance staff working at the scene and assisting the trapped worker.
Firefighters rescued the worker from the trench on a stretcher before the person was placed in an ambulance.
Tse said the person was transported to the Auckland Hospital emergency department in a critical condition.