'Well-known' community man dead, child stable after powerlines electrocution at Ngatira, south Waikato

Three ambulances and a helicopter were sent. Photo / File

The tight-knit Ngatira community has been rocked after a "well-known" man was electrocuted in a workplace incident.

Police said they were called about 4.55pm yesterday to a workplace incident on a farm at Ngatira, between Rotorua and Putaruru, after reports two people had been electrocuted by powerlines.

A man died and a 10-year-old girl was flown to Waikato Hospital in a serious condition.

The young girl was now stable and recovering in hospital.

Putaruru Volunteer Fire Brigade chief officer Nathan Bennetto said the man who was killed was "well-known" in the small community.

He said some crew members who worked at the scene knew the victim.

Firefighters helped St John at the scene with CPR on the victims and also tended to burns, he said.

In situations like this, Bennetto said they often had a debrief and kept an eye on each other's "mental wellbeing".

Often with fatalities, and especially when young children were hurt, he said it was not easy on the crews.

"The effect is quite a bit bigger when children are involved."

He said the death would rock the tight-knit community.

WorkSafe issued a statement today saying they were notified of the electrocution and understood the victim may have been felling trees.

"We are making initial inquiries to establish what our next steps will be," the statement said.

A St John spokeswoman said staff were also called to the incident and sent three ambulances, a rescue helicopter and a manager to the scene.

"We have assessed and treated one patient, who has been flown to Waikato Hospital in a serious condition."

Worksafe was notified and the man's death had been referred to the coroner.

The incident happened on Ngatira Rd near Redwoods Rd and Fly Rd.