{"id":173380,"date":"2017-03-23T13:30:55","date_gmt":"2017-03-23T03:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=173380"},"modified":"2020-09-20T16:20:40","modified_gmt":"2020-09-20T06:20:40","slug":"whs-to-probe-bridge-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/03\/23\/whs-to-probe-bridge-incident\/","title":{"rendered":"WH&S To Probe Bridge Incident"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Police, emergency services and SBRC staff examine the scene at Ennis Bridge on Tuesday after an excavator plunged seven metres into Barker Creek (Photo: RACQ LifeFlight)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 23, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

The South Burnett Regional Council will help Workplace Health and Safety officers investigate the circumstances that led to a contractor being seriously injured on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The contractor was an employee of AFP Excavations and Demolition, who had been engaged to demolish Ennis Bridge near Brooklands.<\/p>\n

He was driving a 23.5 tonne excavator which plunged through the bridge when timbers gave way, landing upside-down in Barker Creek after a seven metre fall.<\/p>\n

The injured worker was later airlifted from the site to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in a serious but stable condition.<\/p>\n

The bridge formerly connect Goodger Gully Road to the Nanango-Brooklands Road, but the Council confirmed it closed the bridge about \u00a010 years ago for structural reasons.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the interest of public safety, Council recently approved the bridge’s demolition.<\/p>\n

It \u00a0then engaged a contractor with \u00a0experience in timber bridge demolition.<\/p>\n

“This is an unfortunate accident and Council will assist the investigation,” a Council spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

“The site has been barricaded off from public access as the remaining structure is unstable.<\/p>\n

“Council advises that there is no unauthorised access to the site, and ask that the community avoid the location if possible.”<\/p>\n