"Bloodcurdling screams" were heard from an Orewa building site yesterday when a 25-year-old man was crushed and seriously injured by a one-tonne beam.
Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter intensive care paramedic Ross Aitken said they were called to the Orewa construction site around 3.40pm after the construction worker suffered a one-tonne concrete beam falling two to three metres onto his lower legs.
"We treated the patient at the scene for some time and then transported him to Auckland Hospital in a serious condition," Mr Aitken said.
"His fellow workers had done a stirling job and actually managed to get the beam off him prior to our arrival."
The man suffered "significant lower leg injuries", Mr Aitken said.
Another Westpac Rescue Helicopter spokesman last night said the beam broke the man's legs.
Kensington Park senior development manager Dan Ogle said the accident occurred at a site where the company was building an apartment complex.
A NZ Herald reader said he heard " bloodcurdling screams" from the building site around the time of the accident.
Government workplace safety representatives were investigating, he said.
Ambulance and Fire Service staff also attended.