WorkSafe confirms seriously injured worker flown to Adelaide
A Darwin waterside worker was flown to Adelaide after a shocking accident on the job. Read what happened.
Northern Territory
Don't miss out on the headlines from Northern Territory. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Darwin waterside worker was medevaced to hospital in Adelaide after an incident on Monday that shocked and devastated his colleagues.
NT WorkSafe has confirmed an investigation is underway into the incident in which a 50-year-old worker was seriously injured on the job, when he was crushed between a pontoon and a vessel he was trying to secure for inspection.
The incident took place at the NT Marine Facility on Frances Bay Drive, Stuart Park when a vessel was being repositioned ahead of an inspection and scheduled works.
It’s understood the worker was employed by Northern Shipwrights.
CareFlight confirmed that on Wednesday July 23 it transported a man in his 50s from Royal Darwin Hospital to Royal Adelaide Hospital.
The man is believed to have undergone surgery on Friday for a compressed pelvis, multiple broken ribs and other injuries of a non-life threatening nature.
A worker familiar with the incident who spoke to the NT News anonymously, said the injured man was in excruciating pain after the accident, with paramedics responding quickly and emergency procedures being enacted.
“The ship was being lifted and he fell between the vessel and pontoon and was very nearly crushed,” the worker said.
“It was terrible for everybody at the scene and emergency procedures were commenced.
“There’s an investigation underway but waterside workers are worried about what happened to one of their own. Nobody goes to work in the morning expecting to be injured and his colleagues are upset it was allowed to happen.”
The NT Marine Facility has been operating since July 2018 in the vicinity of Dinah Beach Cruising Yacht Club.
Owned and operated by Tasmanian Seafoods Group, a spokesman confirmed the incident to the NT News, but was unable to provide precise details pending NT WorkSafe’s investigation.
“I’m not able to comment and pre-empt the investigation findings, but as far as I’m aware this was best described as a one-off incident,” he said.
“We run operations in multiple states across Australia and pride ourselves on our workplace standards. Unfortunately, occasionally at complex engineering sites unexpected incidents occur and we’re working with NT WorkSafe as part of their investigation into the incident.”
NT WorkSafe said it had not closed the workplace and that other areas of the business not associated with the workplace incident were continuing to operate as normal.
NT WorkSafe said its inspectors issued three prohibition notices requiring the business to address safety issues that had potentially contributed to the incident.
It said the prohibition notices would remain in force “until such time as the business can demonstrate they have remedied the directions of the notices”.
“WorkSafe Inspectors are working with the business so they can comply with the prohibition notices and resume full operation at their facility,” a spokesman said.
More Coverage
Originally published as WorkSafe confirms seriously injured worker flown to Adelaide
Measles alert: Locations sick tourist visited during Territory trip
NT Health has issued a measles alert, along with a string of locations visited by a sick tourist during a visit to the Northern Territory. FREE READ.
‘Five locations’: How decades-old reports could crack Falconio case
The confidential reports, commissioned by the British government and given to NT Police, identified ‘five locations’ where Falconio could be, the expert says.