Man cheats death in 4m fall

A man is lucky to be alive after the elevated work platform bucket he was standing in, disintegrated and he fell some 4m (about 12 feet) onto a concrete surface.
Private contractor Paul Mangakahia is in hospital nursing two broken left ribs and a bruised left knee.
He told the Herald on Wednesday morning the accident happened about 12 noon on Tuesday when he was working at the vacant site of the old Kia Orana Foods factory next to the CIIC building. He was standing in the fibre glass bucket of the elevated working platform, cutting purloins with a chain saw.
Without any warning the bucket disintegrated and having no support, he fell directly onto the concrete surface below after hitting part of the machine on the way down. As he fell he threw his chainsaw to one side so it would not fall on him and he put out his left hand to try and break his fall.
Others working nearby came to his aid. At first he thought he was alright but then felt a pain on his left side.
He said he was doing a private job and using his own machine. He realizes he should have been wearing a safety harness and should have done more stringent maintenance checks on the state of the bucket. Being made of fibre glass, the bucket over time would have been affected by sun light making it brittle. He should have checked for cracks.
Mangakahia said his accident was an important lesson for all contractors about the need to wear safety gear and carry out regular safety inspections of machinery where failure could result in death or serious injury. He was very lucky to be alive.
Mangakahia’s high fitness level means he will recover quicker than the average person but he acknowledges he should not have taken short cuts or tried to rely on past experience.

Herald Issue 463 10 June
- World famous activist assisting residents
- Budget will decide if residents prosecute Government over landfill
- Forestry project sucking Mangaia dry
- Budget 2010 – fiasco or disaster?