A worker had to use his hands and a spade to dig his workmate free from a torrent of dirt when a trench they were excavating collapsed in the Waikato backblocks, in what WorkSafe says was a preventable incident.
The work did not comply with regulations around excavation safety, and as a result the employers were sentenced and fined $275,000, in addition to reparations of $45,000 for harm caused to the worker.
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Read WorkSafe's Excavation Safety good practice guidance>>