A man has died after a stack of panels fell on top of him at a factory in the Waikato town of Huntly.
A worker at the local Z petrol station described seeing a lot of police at the Metrapanel factory, across the road from her workplace, followed by a hearse a little later in the afternoon.
"It's pretty scary, I'd like to know what happened," she said. "It's so sad."
St John's spokesman said ambulance staff were advised of the accident at 2:43pm today and arrived shortly before 3pm.
"Unfortunately one patient was declared deceased at the scene."
Police inspector Jason Greenhalgh confirmed the death had happened at a factory at 15 Tregoweth Lane -- the address of the Metrapanel factory.
He said WorkSafe New Zealand was investigating.
A WorkSafe New Zealand spokeswoman confirmed it had been notified of the incident, but said no further comment would be made until its investigation was complete.