-
Workers (Sign Installers) in cherry picker plunge
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/ … 31798.html
Workers in cherry picker plungequote :Chris Evans
March 21, 2007 – 3:52PM
AdvertisementAdvertisementTwo men were seriously injured after hitting the ground from a height of 10 metres when a cherry picker they were working on tipped over in northern Victoria.
Police spokesman Glenn Weir said the men had been “stringing” cable to a new sign in front of the railway station at Echuca, kilometres north of Melbourne, around 9am when they suddenly crashed to the ground.
“There were two people working in the basket and one person operating the cherry picker, down below,” Inspector Weir said.
“We believe the person below has adjusted the height of the bucket, when the whole thing has fallen over. Two people in the back were taken to hospital with serious injuries.”
‘Life-threatening’ injuries
Rural Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman Tania Whalen said a 22-year-old man suffered a cardiac arrest at the scene but was revived and taken to the local hospital. He was then flown to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne with serious life-threatening head injuries.
His workmate was walking around, nursing a hip injury, when paramedics arrived. He was taken to the Echuca District Hospital.
Metlink spokeswoman Miranda Tring said the men were employed by Beacon Installation, a company sub-contracted to install new signage at Victorian railway stations.
“Police have attended and WorkSafe is on site, investigating. So I can’t really comment on what actually happened,” Ms Tring said.
“Two workers are injured and our prayers and thoughts are with them, their families and friends.”
WorkSafe spokesman Michael Birt said the incident coincided with a series of “Look Up and Live” TV advertisements his agency had recently been running in country Victoria.
“There were three deaths on cherry pickers last year, but they were more trucks hitting power lines, backing in and lifting up their tippers and things like that. Electrocution on contact with is a very real risk,” Mr Birt said.
He said one such death at Dandenong on February 2 followed an attempt by a man to load an elevated work platform onto a trailer in a hire yard.
theage.com.au
-
2 Replies
-
we ‘lost’ a couple of sign guys down the road a couple of years back. Prompted the government here to require more licenses etc (read:tax) to use such equipment. I still don’t understand how paying more money makes it safer. Common sense has to come into the mix somewhere.
-
Just one of those things. I don’t think anyone would ever try and do something intentionally to fall 10 metres.
Log in to reply.
