A coolstore worker was taken to hospital in critical condition on Wednesday after collapsing at a South Auckland plant.
The man was testing the quality of kiwifruit at a packhouse in Alfriston owned by Auckland Pack & Cool Ltd when he became ill.
The company says the man was working in a controlled atmosphere coolstore which is kept at 0°C and has low levels of oxygen and high levels of carbon dioxide.
It says the man, in his mid 30s, is an experienced worker and was wearing breathing apparatus when he collapsed.
Auckland Pack & Cool managing director Jan Benes says another worker pulled the man from the coolstore and gave him CPR until fire crews and ambulance officers arrived.
He says the company is working with police and the Department of Labour to investigate the cause of the incident and the coolstore has been shut down in the meantime.
