Inquiry underway after woman killed in Hastings juice factory

The Homegrown Juice Company director Steve Brownlie is deeply saddened and shocked by the death of a woman who was working in the cool store early yesterday morning. Photo/ Paul Taylor.

A WorkSafe investigation into a workplace fatality is under way after a female worker died in a tragic juice factory accident in Hawke's Bay in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Emergency services were called to The Homegrown Juice Company Limited cool store in the Hastings suburb of Mahora at 12.15am yesterday after a female became entangled in machinery.

The woman died at the scene and yesterday a WorkSafe spokesperson said investigators had launched an investigation early yesterday morning which had continued throughout the day.

WorkSafe reported their initial inquiries indicated that a female worker had been "entangled in machinery".

"We have launched an investigation into the incident and are unable to provide any further information now an investigation is underway."

The Homegrown Juice Company was established in 2013 in Hawke's Bay by director Steve Brownlie but originated from when the Brownlie family first planted their orange orchard in Hawkes Bay back in 1969.

The company have the largest plantings of orange orchards in New Zealand, located in Gisborne and Hawkes Bay, with the goal of producing the best tasting, healthiest juices and smoothies possible in New Zealand.

Mr Brownlie said the company was deeply saddened by the loss of one of their staff.

"We are all in a state of shock," Mr Brownlie said.

The factory and office was closed yesterday while investigations were carried out.

Nationally this work-place fatality was the fourth within a week but each case will be assessed by WorkSafe to ensure that it meets the criteria before it is included in the official statistics.

A spokesperson said this was yet to happen for these most recent incidents.

Just yesterday a man was killed involving a forklift at an industrial site in Penrose, Auckland and on June 12 a woman who worked for Alderson Poultry Transport, was killed on a poultry farm in Christchurch.

Last week a 58-year-old man died after he was trapped under a beam at Pegasus Engineering, in the Izone Business Hub, Rolleston.

Yesterday morning a man was also critically injured after getting trapped between a rubbish truck and a tree at Golflands, South Auckland.

WorkSafe figures show that the Hastings incident was the second work-related fatality reported for Hawke's Bay this year.

In March, Hawke's Bay Regional Council senior resource technician Michael Francis Taylor, 44, was killed on a rural farm in Ashley Clinton after a vehicle he was travelling in left a farm track and rolled.

The toll is already catching up to last year's high of three recorded work-related deaths.

Since 2011 Hawke's Bay has had 20 work place fatalities.

The government back in 2012 set a target to reduce work-related fatalities and serious injuries by 25 per cent by 2020, with an interim target of 10 per cent by 2016.

The latest release by WorkSafe showed that positive progress is being made towards the target reductions for fatal and serious non-fatal injury, with fatal work-related injuries at the lowest rate since the data series began in 2002.

The release stated that recent WorkSafe estimate data suggests that the recent improvement in the rate of fatal injury may be slowing, while international comparisons with Australia and the United Kingdom confirm that despite progress, New Zealand's fatal injury rate remains higher.