The incident occurred about 3.20pm Thursday at what is now Channel Infrastructure, at the entrance to Whangārei Harbour.
A spokeswoman for Channel said the man suffered a medical event while working.
The incident occurred in a disused tank, not one of the tanks being upgraded to increase the nation's fuel reserves.
A St John spokesman said a rapid response unit, an ambulance and a Northern Rescue helicopter responded.
The patient was flown to Whangārei Hospital in a critical condition.
Fire crews from the Ruakākā and Whangārei brigades responded because the callout was initially coded as being due to a hazardous substance.
A WorkSafe spokesman said the agency was not investigating because the emergency was the result of a medical event rather than a workplace accident.
This story was first published on rnz.co.nz |  |
