Climbing Accident In Newcastle Aus

dci2005 · 19th December 2008, 07:01 AM

climbing accident kill tree worker on tuesday. my thoughts to his family and friends.

Jeff Darby · 19th December 2008, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dci2005

climbing accident kill tree worker on tuesday. my thoughts to his family and friends.

My condolences to his family.

Have we any more information on how this happened?

JayD

Eric Frei · 19th December 2008, 01:06 PM

Tree lopper's body wedged between branches - Local News - News - General - The Herald

Quote:

Tree lopper's body wedged between branches
BY TYRON BUTSON
17/12/2008 9:31:00 AM

A TREE lopper died after he became wedged between branches 15 metres above the ground in Maryland last night.

The man's body was left hanging for more than 21/2 hours as emergency services tried several times to retrieve him.

Specialist police rescue officers, firefighters and paramedics were called to Kiara Close after neighbours spotted the man dangling from the tree about 6pm.

It is believed the man became wedged between two branches of a tree in the front yard of a Kiara Close house and was badly injured as he tried to wiggle free. He died in the tree soon after.

Firefighters used ladders to reach the man but were unable to pull him free.

They said the man showed no signs of life and did not respond to them.

Police spent most of the night at the scene and said they were still looking into the accident.

"We're still investigating, but police have established a crime scene and we're now trying to determine exactly how he died up there," a police spokesman said.

He said firefighters and police rescue officers worked together to try to get the man down.

It is unknown if the man was a professional tree lopper or an amateur who had attempted to cut branches from the tree, but he was using climbing gear and a safety harness.

Residents of the Maryland street were shocked by the incident.

"It's crazy, he's just hanging there, it's awful," one man said.

Police had not formally named the man last night.

A report was expected to be prepared for the coroner after further investigation.

JOINT EFFORT: Police rescue officers climb to the man's body yesterday.

Eric Frei · 19th December 2008, 01:25 PM

After much searching on Google Maps street view etc I think it was at this location just down the next street. A battle Axe block, so although technically in the front yard it was down the drive.

http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Kiara+Close+maryland&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=33.924368,74.091797&ie=UTF8&ll=-32.876654,151.655019&spn=0.000973,0.002261&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=-32.876593,151.654939&panoid=Xz3N1fSmyfrAVNRu5H3-Jw&cbp=12,221.3380806255501,,0,-10.548468531782536
But either way it doesn't help the fellow.

dci2005 · 19th December 2008, 06:54 PM

the newspaper report posted is misleading, respect from the paper would be nice the photo shows him in the fork.will give my version later.

Eric Frei · 20th December 2008, 08:23 AM

Yeah, the comments from people beneath the article says something about him not being left there alone etc ... something isn't accurate.

FlashD · 20th December 2008, 02:51 PM

I don't understand why he had to be rescued by firefighters and poilice if he was working with a crew and they never left him. I also don't understand how he could die from just getting wedged in the fork of a tree. Very strange situation...

Eric Frei · 20th December 2008, 07:40 PM

Very similar thing happened here a few years ago.

The branch wedged the guy into the fork backwards breaking his back ... it doesn't take long in situations like that to die. They also talk of deaths in harnesses ... suspension trauma.

eLCOSH : Will Your Safety Harness Kill You?

OutofMytree · 20th December 2008, 09:22 PM

Sad to hear anyone dying on the job. It would be of great benefit to hear exactly how this occurred. Having read the article on suspension trauma I can well understand how a fatality MAY occur after what may seem to be a simple accident.

At the risk of jumping the gun, we never, ever, climb alone. There are three trained climbers in my crew and whenever one goes up he or she has a groundie for PERSONAL support. Little things like this make a huge difference.

My condolences to the family. Horrible way to celebrate Christmas.

19th December 2008, 07:01 AM	#1
dci2005 Sappling Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: newcastle Posts: 6	Climbing Accident In Newcastle Aus climbing accident kill tree worker on tuesday. my thoughts to his family and friends.

19th December 2008, 01:25 PM	#4
Eric Frei Admin - Razor sharp and independent 2 X Diploma Level 5 qualified arborist Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 12,814	Re: Climbing Accident In Newcastle Aus After much searching on Google Maps street view etc I think it was at this location just down the next street. A battle Axe block, so although technically in the front yard it was down the drive. http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Kiara+Close+maryland&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=33.924368,74.091797&ie=UTF8&ll=-32.876654,151.655019&spn=0.000973,0.002261&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=-32.876593,151.654939&panoid=Xz3N1fSmyfrAVNRu5H3-Jw&cbp=12,221.3380806255501,,0,-10.548468531782536 But either way it doesn't help the fellow. __________________ Protect your rights to work - Join Australian Tree Association My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist

19th December 2008, 06:54 PM	#5
dci2005 Sappling Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: newcastle Posts: 6	Re: Climbing Accident In Newcastle Aus the newspaper report posted is misleading, respect from the paper would be nice the photo shows him in the fork.will give my version later.

20th December 2008, 08:23 AM	#6
Eric Frei Admin - Razor sharp and independent 2 X Diploma Level 5 qualified arborist Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 12,814	Re: Climbing Accident In Newcastle Aus Yeah, the comments from people beneath the article says something about him not being left there alone etc ... something isn't accurate. __________________ Protect your rights to work - Join Australian Tree Association My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist

20th December 2008, 02:51 PM	#7
FlashD Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Kansas Posts: 213	Re: Climbing Accident In Newcastle Aus I don't understand why he had to be rescued by firefighters and poilice if he was working with a crew and they never left him. I also don't understand how he could die from just getting wedged in the fork of a tree. Very strange situation...

20th December 2008, 07:40 PM	#8
Eric Frei Admin - Razor sharp and independent 2 X Diploma Level 5 qualified arborist Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 12,814	Re: Climbing Accident In Newcastle Aus Very similar thing happened here a few years ago. The branch wedged the guy into the fork backwards breaking his back ... it doesn't take long in situations like that to die. They also talk of deaths in harnesses ... suspension trauma. eLCOSH : Will Your Safety Harness Kill You? __________________ Protect your rights to work - Join Australian Tree Association My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist

20th December 2008, 09:22 PM	#9
OutofMytree Former Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Perth Posts: 307	Re: Climbing Accident In Newcastle Aus Sad to hear anyone dying on the job. It would be of great benefit to hear exactly how this occurred. Having read the article on suspension trauma I can well understand how a fatality MAY occur after what may seem to be a simple accident. At the risk of jumping the gun, we never, ever, climb alone. There are three trained climbers in my crew and whenever one goes up he or she has a groundie for PERSONAL support. Little things like this make a huge difference. My condolences to the family. Horrible way to celebrate Christmas. Last edited by OutofMytree; 20th December 2008 at 09:27 PM. Reason: spelling

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