Arborist dies in Hagley Park following workplace accident

A serious incident has taken place at Hagley Park. Photo / Nathan Morton

An arborist has died while working in Christchurch’s Hagley Park following a workplace accident.

WorkSafe has opened an investigation into the fatal incident as a result, it’s expected the process will take up to a year to complete.

Multiple emergency service vehicles were called to a section of the park, near the United Croquet Club and botanic garden car park, shortly after 9.50am.

Police, in a statement, said the death had been referred to WorkSafe and the Coroner.

A section of the park was cordoned off to the public with St John ambulance vehicles parked nearby.

Inside the cordon, a large tree could be seen fallen with arborist equipment scattered across the ground.

A truck belonging to TreeTech Specialist Care, an independent arborist company was parked next to the cordon.

Bystanders watching on appeared distressed while contractors inside the cordon could be seen consoling one another.

In a joint statement between Christchurch City Council’s head of parks, Andrew Rutledge and Treetech manager director Chris Walsh the worker’s death was confirmed.

“This morning there was a serious incident in Hagley Park involving a member of the Treetech team,” the statement read.

“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased, and with our colleagues at Treetech.”

The arborist company will not be commenting further while the investigation is under way.