An electrical company and a farming company have been fined after a worker was stuck in a grain silo and had to be resuscitated.
Austin Brothers and the Dillon Partnership were fined $35,000 and $69,000 respectively in Gore District Court, under the Health and Safety in Employment Act, and ordered to pay reparations.
WorkSafe chief inspector, Keith Stewart, said that in March 2016 two electricians were wiring motors in a new silo on the Dillon's property without harnesses or power isolation.
When a truck arrived to empty the silo, one electrician was engulfed in moving grain and had to be dug out and resuscitated, while four rescuers required hospital treatment for breathing difficulties.
Mr Stewart said it was good luck, rather than good management, that no one died.
