A WORKMAN was crushed by an eight-tonne machine which trapped him from the waist down.
The horrific incident happened at Con Mech engineering firm at Harelaw Industrial Estate, Annfield Plain, near Stanley, County Durham, at 1am yesterday.
The man suffered multiple broken bones after the machine moved along a railway track and wedged him against a static piece of equipment.
Firefighters had to use specialist hydraulic lifting equipment to remove the huge machine from the tracks and release the man, who was trapped from the waist down.
He was then taken to University Hospital of North Durham for treatment, where he is understood to remain today. Watch manager Andrew Bennett, based at Consett fire station, said: “We were called to Con Mech engineering firm at around 1am this morning.
“A man had got trapped between a moving piece of machinery on a railway track and a static machine.
“He was stuck from the waist down, he had severe injuries, including broken bones and fractures.
“He was suffering extreme trauma to the lower part of his body.
“The piece of machinery measured around 5m by 3m and weighed between seven to eight tonnes.
“We used hydraulic lifting equipment to lift the machine off the track so the man could be released.
“Firefighters from Consett and High Handenhold attended along with a special tender from Bishop Auckland, and we were there for about two hours.”
Durham Police said they were called to the incident, but were treating it as a non-suspicious work accident.
They last night described the man’s injuries as “non-life threatening” although he was still receiving hospital treatment.
The Health and Safety Executive are now investigating the incident. A spokeswoman said inspectors were visiting the site yesterday afternoon. Con Mech, which make steel products, invested £1.5m in new equipment for its Harelaw plant in 2010, in preparation of an increase in activity in the oil and gas industry. The company’s Heat Treatment Division installed two new furnaces, a large water quenching system and a new charging machine, which are used in the production of steel products. Con Mech employs 70 people and turns over some £10m a year.
Nobody from the company was available for comment on the incident when contacted by the Journal yesterday.
