Digger operator who died in Kaingaroa Forest incident was Craig Griffiths of Ōpōtiki - police

The entrance to Kaingaroa Forest. Photo / Leah Tebutt

The digger operator who died when his machine became submerged at a Kaingaroa Forest worksite this week was Craig Dawson Griffiths from Ōpōtiki, police say.

A spokesperson said Griffiths, 58, died after a workplace incident at Kaingaroa Forest on Wednesday and the matter had been referred to WorkSafe.

WorkSafe has begun investigating the death at forestry company Timberlands’ processing plant in the forest between Rotorua and Taupō.

A spokesman said on Thursday that its inspectors had been at the scene gathering evidence.

He said WorkSafe extended its sympathy to the whānau, friends, and colleagues of the worker who died.

Timberlands chief executive Ryan Cavanagh earlier said a “third-party contractor” working onsite at the plant died after a long-reach excavator being used to clear a drain became submerged shortly after 11am on July 31.

Police said emergency services responded about noon but rescue attempts were “unsuccessful”.

Specialist teams involved in the emergency response and recovery efforts included the Serious Crash Unit, CIB and the National Dive Squad, police said.

In a statement on Wednesday night, Cavanagh described the death as a “tragic fatality” and said he was “deeply saddened”.

He said Timberlands’ priorities were supporting the man’s family and co-operating with the accident investigators to understand what the company and its third-party contractors could do to ensure this did not happen again.

On Thursday, a Timberlands spokesman told the Rotorua Daily Post the company was still working to understand the “full sequence and timeline of events” that led to the tragedy.

“While only the immediate accident scene was cordoned off by the police [on Wednesday], given the tragedy we voluntarily suspended operations across our entire KPP [Kaingaroa processing plant] site,” the spokesman said.

He said WorkSafe completed preliminary site investigations on Thursday and KPP operations remained suspended “as a sign of respect to the whānau of the deceased”. Operations were likely to resume today.

Kaingaroa Village is on the edge of the 190,000ha forest. Photo / Andrew Warner

A site blessing with a local kaumātua has taken place, the spokesman said.

A police spokeswoman on Thursday said the dive squad arrived at the scene at 4pm on Wednesday and the excavator and the deceased were recovered about 10.30pm.

Representatives from the Kaingaroa Forest Village Council declined to comment at this time.

Second digger tragedy

It’s less than two weeks after another digger operator died when the machine he was operating tipped over in the Waimatā River near Gisborne.

Police, Fire and Emergency NZ, Hato Hone St John and the Trust Tairāwhiti rescue helicopter were called to the property about 20km up Waimatā Valley Rd.

“The excavator rolled, trapping the male operator inside the cab, which went under water about 10m off the riverbank,” an emergency services spokesman said.

“The cab of the machine was completely submerged.”

The alarm was raised by other contractors present.

“Others at the scene swam out to the machine to try to free the driver, but they were unable to get him out,” the spokesman said.

A police inquiry was under way on behalf of the coroner.

Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She covers mainly police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.