A man who was tragically crushed by a heavy entry gate at his Berkeley workplace on Friday has been remembered as a "hardworking family man".
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Berkeley's Jose Martins died following an industrial site accident at Maluko Concreting on Berkeley Road.
Emergency services were called to the business about 6am but Mr Martins could not be saved.
Mr Martins daughter Susana Martins described her father, who was aged 64 and of Portuguese heritage, as a "simple man".
"Dad went about his life quietly and he worked hard," she said. "He did everything for his family."
Ms Martins said her father was well-known and loved in the Portuguese community within the Shellharbour area.
Maluko Concreting owner Steven Ferreira said Mr Martins would be "dearly missed" by all his co-workers.
"He was a hardworking family man," he said. "I could not fault the guy.
"Jose was a concreter who started working for the company in 2002.
"He would come to work every day. He never took leave and was never sick. He was so reliable."
Mr Ferreira said Mr Martins was friends with all of his colleagues, many of whom had Portuguese and Italian heritage.
"His death has been devastating for all the workers," he said. "It is tragic.
"Jose was also a family friend on top of me being his boss.
"We didn't see each other as much socially any more but we used to catch up outside of work."
On Friday, a tearful friend of Mr Martins, who attended the scene, said he was like family.
"He's like a brother to me," he said. "He was a gentleman, a good man."
An outpouring of support and condolences for the family flooded social media.
He would come to work every day. He never took leave and was never sick. He was so reliable.
- Steven Ferreira
Family friend Rob Oliveira said, "RIP my friend. Condolences to the family."
"So sad for everyone involved. We all take for granted going to work and coming home safely," a reader posted.
"Condolences to the family and friends. RIP," someone else wrote.
Mr Ferreira said a car had driven into the sliding gate weeks before but he still did not know how the accident occurred.
The circumstances around how the gate crushed Mr Martins is not yet known and will form part of the SafeWork investigation.
Officers from Lake Illawarra Police District attended the scene on Friday and commenced inquiries in conjunction with SafeWork NSW investigators.
A SafeWork spokesman said the investigation was ongoing and no further comment could be made on Monday.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
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