Two injured in house collapse

By AMIE RICHARDSON

Two men are in hospital with serious injuries after the second home in two weeks collapsed during renovation work in Auckland.

Part of a villa in Leighton St, Grey Lynn, dropped from its foundations yesterday morning, sinking 2m and landing on the digger levelling the ground in front of the house.

Independent contractor and digger driver Jack Haere, aged 34, had to be pulled from the debris. He was in a serious condition in Auckland Hospital last night and is understood to have a deep cut to his stomach.

His co-contractor, Api Waititi, was taken to Middlemore Hospital with a broken leg.

On February 14 Jon Keith Lockett, 21, died when a house being moved by his father's company, Affordable Foundations, collapsed and crushed him.

The house was being shifted from the front of a Hillsborough property to the back. His co-worker Kevin Sorraghan, 41, broke an ankle.

Mr Lockett's death was the fourth in the building industry this year.

Yesterday in Grey Lynn, owner Vena Tallon was the only person inside the home when it fell. Mr Tallon said he hired Mr Waititi to make some alterations after putting the work out for tender.

"It doesn't seem to be negligence but they have just underestimated the weight of the house and the job.

"Fortunately nobody has died. With what they're doing, it is so critical to get it right. They can't miss anything out. It's deadly serious."

Police said they had not discovered exactly how the accident occurred and were waiting for an assessment by Occupational Safety and Health officials.

Senior Sergeant Mark Benefield said police were concerned about the accident occurring so soon after the collapse in Hillsborough.

However, yesterday's incident was quite different.

He said the workers were lucky to survive the accident.

Mr Tallon's daughter Jeanette Tallon, 26, who has lived in the house all her life, said the work was to have provided better access for her disabled 4-year-old daughter Marieka.

Her family were having breakfast in Ponsonby when the accident happened.

Her cousin's partner alerted the family after seeing emergency services outside the home.

Ms Tallon said she was devastated by the accident. The house had been a home for not just the seven people who lived there, but also for the rest of her extended family.

Neighbour Joanne Clark, who was in her back garden, heard a loud crash and immediately called emergency services before running out to the front of the house.

"I started to sweat and my heart beat faster."

She said she knew the family well because her partner had lived next door for about 20 years.

"They're such lovely people. That's the most heart-breaking thing."

The house was insured.