2020 shocker: Five 'preventable' workplace deaths in six days

Thursday, 9 January 2020

Some farmers believe it is safer to drive with their safety belt unbuckled. (Video first published in October 2018)

New Zealand workplace death statistics are off to a shocking start in 2020, with five fatalities in just six days.

A tree falling on a person at a Raukumara forestry block, near Gisborne, on Thursday, was the latest in the horror string of fatal accidents.

The other four deaths involved farm vehicles and are all being investigated by WorkSafe.

A 67-year-old man died when the tractor he was driving rolled at the Goldfields Mining Centre in Central Otago.

WorkSafe head of general inspectorate Jo Pugh said each of the deaths was preventable.

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Worksafe head of general inspectorate Jo Pugh says employers need to 'step up' when it comes to health and safety.

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'It's absolutely tragic for so many people.

'This is the time of year when we're meant to be relaxing and enjoying the summer break and instead we have people out there burying family members.'

She was not sure what caused the spike in deaths over the last week.

WorkSafe investigated 13 agriculture fatalities in the year to October 2019.

Rocio Atencio Salazar died in a crash on a rural property near Ashburton on January 4.

This week's deaths included a 67-year-old who died when the tractor he was driving rolled down a bank at the Goldfields Mining Centre, near Cromwell, on Wednesday.

The centre closed most of its operations on Thursday as it awaited the arrival of WorkSafe investigators.

A spokesman declined to comment further.

A person died when a side-by-side vehicle (utility vehicle) crashed at Tamahere, near Hamilton, on January 3.

The next day, Chilean student Rocio Atencio Salazar, 19, died in a crash on a rural property near Ashburton. A passenger was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Salazar was gaining work experience on a farm after completing agriculture studies.

On Monday, former Ruapehu district councillor Ronald Frew, 53, died in a quad-bike crash on a rural property in Ohakune, in the central North Island.

Pugh said the 'she'll be right' attitude of many New Zealanders contributed to the tragedies, particularly those involving vehicles, which made up 73 per cent of fatalities the organisation investigated.

'We haven't got it yet as a country … we're quite immature when it comes to risk identification and management.

'We're thinking 'it won't happen to me, it will happen to someone else'. It happens too much and people are dying,' she said.

The problems include people using vehicles that are not appropriate for the task, a lack of crash protection devices, not wearing seat belts, and too many children being placed in charge of adult vehicles.

Employers had to 'step up' and realise health and safety was more than an issue of paper work.

'It's about caring for your workers and it's about talking to them, making sure you are mitigating risk and making sure they go home healthy and safe at the end of the day.'