The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Electrician almost killed in grain silo incident

NZ Herald
26 Jun, 2017 03:24 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

File photo of grain silos. Photo / 123rf

File photo of grain silos. Photo / 123rf

An electrician working on top of a grain silo had to be resuscitated after being engulfed in grain.

The electrical company he worked for, Austin Bros, and farming partnership Mark and Sonia Dillon were fined $35,000 and $69,000 respectively in a sentence this month following the incident.

Two electricians were working on top of the grain to wire up motors on the Dillons' property when a truck arrived to empty the silo. The driver turned on the grain outfeed auger, causing one of the electricians to become engulfed.

The electrician had to be dug out and resuscitated, with four rescuers requiring hospital treatment for breathing difficulties.

"The dangers of working on grain are well known," said WorkSafe chief inspector Keith Stewart.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Moving grain acts like quicksand and can bury a person in seconds. Even if grain appears to be solid, it is not a safe surface for workers," Stewart said.

A WorkSafe investigation found poor risk management, emergency planning and training for confined spaces work put the electrician's life in danger while threatening the safety of 14 others who went to his aid.

"The electricians should have been wearing harnesses; the truck driver should have been told they were in the silo. It was good luck rather than good management that meant no one died in this incident," Stewart said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The victim who was engulfed was awarded $7000 and the electrician who got out of the silo to raise the alarm was awarded $3000.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

'I feel aggrieved': 92-year-old online shopper's warning after supermarket meat purchase

The Country

Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit

The Country

Beekeeper advocacy group comes under pressure


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

'I feel aggrieved': 92-year-old online shopper's warning after supermarket meat purchase
The Country

'I feel aggrieved': 92-year-old online shopper's warning after supermarket meat purchase

A butcher says just 65% of the meat Godfrey Rodgers received would be edible if cooked.

16 Jul 06:00 PM
Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit
The Country

Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit

16 Jul 06:00 PM
Beekeeper advocacy group comes under pressure
The Country

Beekeeper advocacy group comes under pressure

16 Jul 03:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP