A staff member of the Hawke's Bay Regional Council has died in an accident last night on a rural farm in Hawke's Bay.
Police were alerted to a sudden death of a 44-year-old man on Tukituki Rd in Ashley Clinton at 8.10pm on Friday.
Council officials have confirmed the man was killed in a four-wheel drive accident.
The alarm was raised on Friday night when he had not returned to work, and his vehicle tracker was not moving.
HBRC chief executive chief executive Andrew Newman said this afternoon that his throughts, and those of the wider council team, were with the dead man's family.
Earlier in the day, HBRC chairman Rex Graham confirmed the death was of one of their own.
"I can confirm that one of our staff members was killed in a tragic accident on a farm and it's just not a good thing. It's terrible. Accidents are bad but when someone dies in an accident it's terrible."
Mr Graham said the loss of their colleague, who was also a father, came under upsetting circumstances and said the family were "devastated".
"We are in shock and all colleagues are in shock."
Mr Graham said the Hawke's Bay Regional Council extended their condolences and that he would be attending a family gathering today.
"I intend to extend my condolences personally."
Hawke's Bay Regional Council communications manager Drew Broadly said the council staff extended their sympathies to his family and to his children.
A police spokesperson said the death, which was not being treated as suspicious, would be treated as a workplace accident.
Police were said to be investigating on behalf of the coroner and would notify Worksafe New Zealand.
Statistics drawn from WorksafeNew Zealand indicated last night's death could be the first workplace fatality in Hawke's Bay this year, with three deaths recorded in both 2015 and 2016.