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Man crushed in workplace accident

Man crushed in workplace accident

A truck driver has died despite desperate attempts to free him from under a loading ramp which collapsed onto him in Henderson this morning.

It is believed the 30-year-old man was killed instantly when he became trapped under the ramp at the rear of his trailer in a light industrial area on Possner Way at about 8am.

Jake Corkery, of paint and blasting business Acacia Corrosion Control, said workers from a site nearby tried to use a forklift to free the man.

"I had just finished blasting and a guy walked over looking worried, saying 'the truck driver, the ramp has fallen and crushed him'," he said.

"I walked out the front and saw he was underneath the ramp and his leg was hanging out.

"Some workers came over and got a forklift and tried to get the ramp off him, but it is very heavy. There was nothing they could do.

"I ran inside and told my boss to call the ambulance."

Saint John Ambulance called firefighters to the scene, but they were not able to save the man.

A group of visibly distraught people, believed to be the truck driver's loved ones, raced to the scene at about 10am were consoled by police and others on site.

Police cordoned off the area around the truck while officers and Worksafe investigators assessed the area.

Mr Corkery believed the hydraulics on the truck's loading ramp may have failed and the truck driver was crushed under the weight of the ramp.

"I'm not sure what's happened but he's taken the chains off and the ramp has broken and he has fallen," he said.

He described the incident extremely upsetting and a "freak accident".

"To think someone has lost their life, it really upsets you," he said.

It is believed the Lee's Transport driver intended to pick up materials from Acacia Corrosion Control.

Another worker there said he suspected something was wrong when the truck was idling outside for a prolonged period.

"One of the guys next door came to see if the driver was coming into our yard," he said.

"The truck had been sitting out the front for a while and everyone was thinking 'why hasn't he come in yet'."

Lee's Transport declined to comment. Worksafe is investigating.