A man has died after a tree fell on a digger in a workplace incident on a farm near Harihari on the West Coast.
Emergency services were called to the incident on the Whataroa Highway (SH6), 6.5 kilometres south of Harihari, at 2.30pm on Tuesday.
Senior Sergeant Brent Cook said police were investigating.
The person who died was a contractor working on his own.
He was found by a fellow worker.
Cook said it was too early to say whether it was weather-related or whether the tree fell as part of the digger operation.
Worksafe had been notified.
“It is an absolute tragedy. To go to work and not return home. It’s a hard time for everyone involved,” Cook said.