Crush injuries from aluminium sheets after pair are trapped and later sent to hospital
September 23, 2011
Two men have suffered serious injuries after they were crushed while unloading aluminium sheets from a shipping container in North Geelong, Victoria, yesterday.
The incident occurred at a Duoro Street graphic supplies company, with the four-metre long sheets tipping onto the pair while they were loading them onto pallets.
The workers were trapped underneath the sheets for nearly an hour.
Aged in their 20s and late 30s, both men are employed by a labour hire company. They were airlifted to the Alfred Hospital with serious injuries. WorkSafe attended the scene, investigating the cause of the incident.
It has issued a prohibition notice, immediately suspending operation until a safe system of work has been established.
Incidents where workers have been crushed by materials shifting while inside shipping containers are a common problem, WorkSafe says.
It is calling on workplaces to ensure safe systems of work are in place to prevent incidents like this.