by Vicki Waterhouse, John Cousins and Carly Udy
A man fell 5m on to the top of a concrete-filled pile while working on the new harbour bridge on Thursday and had to be removed from the hole by crane.
The 40-year-old Bellevue man, who works for Fletcher Construction, reportedly slid down a ladder and fell into a circular mould of one of the T-shaped columns that attach to the top of the bridge piles at 12.30pm.
It is understood the man fell as he was clipping on his safety harness, while standing on a ladder placed on an angle. He was a tradesman working on the columns in the water.
St John Ambulance team leader Simon Campbell said the man severely injured his legs and was in a lot of pain when he was hoisted out of the hole by crane.
An on-site first-aid worker initially went to the man's aid and secured the man to the crane so he could be lifted out.
He was taken to Tauranga Hospital in an ambulance but later transferred to Waikato Hospital because of the complexity of his injuries.
Mr Campbell said he did not know how the first-aid worker was alerted.
Fletcher Construction general manager of the engineering division Graham Darlow, said the man's injuries were sustained from sliding down a ladder placed on an angle.
"It was not a free fall," he said.
The company had previously identified the potential to fall down a ladder (while working on the columns) as a hazard, but had taken safety measures to mitigate it.
"The safety of our workers is paramount," he said.
Mr Darlow would not say how long ago the hazard had been identified but safety measures were being reviewed.
"We want to find out what happened to prevent a similar thing happening again."
Fletcher Construction carried out a full investigation yesterday.
Mr Darlow said he and the rest of the company were "really concerned" by what had happened and for the injured man's welfare.
Harbour Link project manager Kevin Reid said an investigation had been launched into the accident, which left the man with a shattered kneecap and other injuries, including severe soft tissue damage.
He said they needed to determine the cause in order to ensure the right processes were in place and being followed.
The man had surgery yesterday and was in a stable condition and improving in Waikato Hospital's high dependency unit last night.
A spokesman for the Department of Labour, Iain MacLean, said it was investigating and an inspector had visited the site of the accident yesterday afternoon.
The department had started their interview process, but were not prepared to comment further, he said.