A man working with explosives at a new housing estate had gone to investigate a mistimed detonation before dying in a blast heard kilometres away. Police said a 60-year-old man had died in the tragic work accident. It is believed the worker had been setting explosives for a series of blasts in preparation for laying pipework on the site. Police first received a call about 11.30am with reports of two explosions at a construction site. An inspector said the man had returned to the trenches after a first explosion. “It’s understood the first explosion went off too early and the man went back to see what happened,” the inspector said. “That’s when the second explosion went off.” He said the site had now been deemed safe. Before the tragedy, emergency services had reported they were working to rescue a man who was trapped down a 3m-deep trench after being called to the scene. Nearby residents said it wasn’t until they heard the second explosion that they knew something had gone wrong.


Goto original article.
Back to news list