A man had to be flown to hospital after his legs were pinned between steel beams at a Kembla Grange worksite on Friday morning.
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Emergency services were called to Canterbury Road about 10.45am following a report of a workplace accident involving a man in his mid-40s.
Ambulance NSW Illawarra duty operations manager Inspector Norm Rees said the accident happened as Rolled Steel Joists (RSJs) – also known as I-beams – were being unloaded from a truck using a crane.
“The patient was on the back of the truck …. undoing the restraints on the beams to be unloaded and the RSJ has slipped and pinned him against the others by the legs,” Inspector Rees said.
Each of the beams weighed between three and four tonnes, he said.
The man sustained multiple fractures to his lower legs and a fractured ankle, along with a laceration to his head.
Inspector Rees praised the quick thinking of the crane driver, who “pretty quickly” lifted the beam off the man’s legs.
Despite moving the beam off the man, the precarious position of the shifted steel meant Fire and Rescue NSW crews had to be called in to stabilise the material.
Inspector Rees said the man was stable throughout his ordeal.
“We managed the pain to the level where he was able to joke to his wife about giving her the car keys to take his car home,” he said.
The man was taken by ambulance to the car park of the nearby Kembla Grange Racecourse, where he was loaded into a NSW Ambulance rescue helicopter and flown to St George Hospital in a stable condition.
Earlier: A man has been injured after he was hit by a piece of equipment at a Kembla Grange worksite on Friday morning.
Emergency services were called to Canterbury Road about 10.45am following a report of a workplace accident.
“Paramedics are currently on scene treating a male patient, believed to be aged in his mid-40s, who has been hit by falling equipment,” a NSW Ambulance spokesman said.
The man was treated for a laceration to his head and injuries to his lower limbs.
It is understood the man’s legs were crushed by a steel beam, which slipped as it was being unloaded from a truck by crane.
He was taken to the car park of the nearby Kembla Grange Racecourse, where he was loaded into a NSW Ambulance rescue helicopter and flown to St George Hospital.
Fire and Rescue NSW crews were also at the scene.
More to come.
Andrew Pearson
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
