04.09.2015

Fatal fall on avocado farm

A man died on Wednesday on an avocado farm in Comboyne, New South Wales, Australia after he reportedly fell from a cherry picker.

The man, 55, had been harvesting fruit from when he is said to have fallen from the basket from a height of just a few metres.

A rescue helicopter was called in, but the man was declared dead at the scene. SafeWork NSW is investigating the death and has issued a notice prohibiting use of the work platform, until it reports.

A statement from the director of the Australian Centre for Agricultural Health and Safety, Tony Lower, said: “We do know that there are injuries that do occur involving cherry pickers, but in terms of fatal events it is a relatively low number”.

It seems that five people died following falls from aerial work platforms on farms across Australia between 2001 and 2013, a tiny fraction of the total. It seems that most fatalities are a result of accidents with quad bikes and tractors.