Buried man feared dead
The prime minister has signalled tighter safety measures after a man was buried in a Canterbury quarry slip – likely the industry’s third fatal accident in two months.
The man is feared dead after about 1000 tonnes of rubble came down about 10.40am yesterday at the Heathstock Haulage lime quarry, which trades as Waikari Lime, on Limeworks Rd, near Waikari, in North Canterbury.
Quarry staff, Waikari volunteer firefighters and local police officers initially tried to find the man but the instability of the quarry face meant the site had to be evacuated, Inspector Corrie Parnell said.
He said there was further subsidence when the man’s colleagues attempted to free the 65-tonne excavator.
Safety concerns made the rescue operation ‘‘untenable’’ and searchers temporarily suspended the search late yesterday.
Attempts had been made to contact the trapped man but he had not responded.
New Zealand Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly was angered by the incident.
Two quarry workers were killed in March and April, sparking calls to include quarries under health and safety reforms.
Kelly said many quarry accidents in the last year were because of careless health and safety policy decisions.
The Government was prepared to sit by, she said. ‘‘Michael Woodhouse [Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety] should go and dig the man out himself.’’
Health and safety laws in mining were strengthened in 2013, after recommendations of the Royal Commission into the Pike River mine disaster, but, after lobbying from industry, the Government exempted quarries from protections of the new law.
‘‘The Government should correct their mistakes and apologise to the families,’’ Kelly said.
Prime Minister John Key signalled tighter safety guidelines were in the pipeline for quarry operations.
Yesterday, he defended the decision to exclude quarries from the requirement to have ‘‘check inspectors’’ under planned law in the wake of the Pike River mine tragedy. ‘‘We need to continue to work with the quarry industry to make sure the settings are right,’’ Key said.
After Pike River, the advice and the strong view of the Aggregate and Quarry Association was to exclude them and work with them. ‘‘That’s what the Minister of Labour [Woodhouse] is effectively doing.’’
Key said there were different risks in quarries and they had different characteristics from underground mines.
‘‘I suspect there will be a new improved set of guidelines that will be introduced fairly shortly.’’
Aggregate and Quarry Association chief executive Roger Parton said had not seen a series like this since he took over in 2006. It was ‘‘extremely concerning’’ for the industry, he said.
WorkSafe NZ already had more inspectors on quarry sites but the industry was not yet sure how far-reaching the new regulations would be, Parton said.
The Hurunui District Council, which owns the site leased to Heathstock Haulage, said it was ‘‘on tenterhooks’’ awaiting information on the digger operator.
‘‘We are . . . hoping that the trapped driver will miraculously be pulled out alive and unhurt. Our thoughts are also with the driver’s family at this terrible time,’’ council chief executive officer Hamish Dobbie said. ‘‘To have this horrendous accident occur on land that we own is devastating to us.’’
A further 25 specialists, including geotechnical specialists, representatives from Mines Rescue, WorkSafe NZ and search and rescue personnel from police and Alpine Cliff Rescue are assessing the next stage of the operation.
It was expected rescuers would work through last night. The work would continue until the digger was extracted, Parnell said.
Police were considering using excavators operated by remote control.
It was difficult to determine how long the search and rescue operation would take due to ‘‘the complexity of the physical environment’’.
A Westpac Rescue Helicopter spokeswoman said she understood an overhanging rock face came down ‘‘spontaneously’’ on top of the digger as it was driven inside the quarry.
Pyramid Valley Engineering operates from a site beside the quarry. Director John Stanley said the trapped man was an experienced excavator operator.