The death of a 62-year-old man in a tractor crash near Gore
on Monday night is being investigated by the Ministry of
Business, Innovation and Employment.
Invercargill police last night confirmed the dead man was
George Lewis Williams, of Gore. Detective Sergeant Greg
Baird, of Gore, said emergency services were called to a
Mountain Rd farm at Diamond Peak, near Gore, about 7.40pm.
The man was found dead at the scene. It appeared the tractor
and trailer were being used in a baling operation on steep
farm terrain, he said.
Police carried out a scene examination yesterday, and the
incident would be referred to the coroner, Det Sgt Baird
said.
A ministry spokeswoman confirmed preliminary inquiries into
the accident were under way, but would not release any
further details.
Last year, three of the 12 agricultural deaths reported to
the ministry involved tractors.
Not included in figures from the ministry was the death of a
Winton man while helping with haymaking on a Teviot farm in
November. Federated Farmers spokeswoman for health and safety
Jeanette Maxwell said tractor fatalities did not happen very
often.
''It's harder to tip tractors ... We do tend to see a spike
in accidents at this [haymaking] time of year.''
Farm accidents were sometimes because of fatigue,
particularly as farmers and agricultural contractors worked
long hours to make the most of good weather conditions, she
said. Lately, Federated Farmers had been focusing on
advocating health and safety practices, particularly through
education, she said.
Workplace fatalities
2008: 54 (19 agriculture)
2009: 68 (10)
2010: 77 (19)
2011: 45 (15)
2012: 40 (12)
SOURCE: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
- helena.dereus@odt.co.nz
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