7 Sep 2020

Covid-19: Tributes paid to Americold worker who died

2:14 pm on 7 September 2020

Tributes are flowing for a man who died on Friday last week after contracting Covid-19.

Americold Mt Wellington facility.

Americold Mt Wellington facility. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook

Alan Te Hiko was in his 50s, and the youngest person to die in New Zealand of the coronavirus.

He worked at Americold and his friends have described him as a respected colleague and Warriors fan.

In social media posts, they say he was a hard worker who did what he could to make things easier for the rest of the team.

"To myself you were more than my team leader, you were a friend and an older brother for some of us, you just got on with the job, always had our backs and stood up for us too," Kennedy Hutaue said.

Another colleague, Michael Tonga, said Te Hiko was a natural-born leader.

"You are never one to give up you [always] take up a challenge and never say no and always come out on top," he said.