Man dies under 45-tonne quarry rock cutter

Police said the man was killed after he became trapped underneath a 45-tonne rock cutter. Photo / George Novak

A 24-year-old man has died after becoming trapped underneath a 45-tonne rock cutter at a Tauranga quarry.

Emergency services were called out to Oropi Quarries Ltd in McPhail Rd about 12.15pm yesterday.

The driver died at the scene after the rock cutter rolled and trapped him, police said.

A police spokesperson said the fire service had worked through the process of righting the vehicle to retrieve the man's body, using specialist rescue equipment.

Emergency services rushed to the scene of the accident at the Oropi quarry. Photo / George Novak

When the Bay of Plenty Times visited the site yesterday, fire crews, police and quarry staff were all waiting on site for the equipment to arrive. The mood was extremely sombre.

A company official declined to comment.

Both the police serious crash unit and WorkSafe NZ were on site, investigating the cause of the accident.

Sergeant Tristan Murray said last night police would not be commenting on the death because they were only acting on behalf of the coroner by going to the scene.

Mr Murray said the man's body had been removed from the quarry and the matter was in the hands of the coroner and WorkSafe NZ. It was possible the man's name would be

released today, he said.

When contacted for comment, WorkSafe NZ spokesman Mark Scott told the Bay of Plenty Times health and safety inspectors were on the scene yesterday.

"We do not comment on the circumstances [of an incident], as they form part of our investigation. At this early stage it is impossible to say how long the quarry may remain closed," he said.

Company director Catherine Renner could not be contacted for comment and a staff member at the quarry's head office declined to comment.

Other Bay workplace deaths
•November 2014: Michael Donald Fox, 58, died after being pinned under a ride-on mower, which rolled down a bank while working on the family's Paengaroa orchard.
•August 2014: Doug Hay, 59, fell about 2.5m and died from serious head injuries at the Port of Tauranga while doing routine cargo loading.
•August 2013: A 70-year-old Mount Maunganui truck driver died after falling 4m through a roof at Ballance Agri-Nutrients' bulk fertiliser storage warehouse.

- WorkSafe New Zealand