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The cause of a gas explosion in central Auckland that left construction workers so badly burnt that their skin was hanging off has been revealed as a “prankster”.
The blast took place at a construction site on Pakenham St West early on the morning of August 26, 2022, and left five people needing intensive care at Middlemore Hospital’s burns unit.
Now, a year on, WorkSafe is urging “workplace pranksters to keep health and safety top of mind”.
A barbecue gas bottle was mistakenly left running overnight in a shipping container on the Wynyard Quarter construction site, a spokesperson for WorkSafe said.
David White/Stuff
Shredded clothing and gumboots were seen lying in a pool of water in the aftermath of the explosion.
The next morning workers from subcontractor Vuksich and Borich opened the container to start work for the day.
They could smell gas, and one of the workers joked about igniting his lighter.
When he did, the gas caught fire and exploded, the spokesperson said.
“WorkSafe’s investigation established this was a workplace prank gone wrong. [The man] deeply regrets his actions and has participated in restorative justice with the other victims.”
Abigail Dougherty/Stuff
A year after the explosion, WorkSafe have released their findings.
Ringo Harwood, a firefighter who was in the first truck to arrive at the scene, said the crew immediately saw four people standing by a shipping container with “very bad burns” and a fifth “lying on the deck only semi-conscious”.
“They had skin hanging off, some of their clothes had been blown off and what clothing did remain had to be cut off for us to reach the burns.
“After about four or five minutes the first ambulance arrived, but there were only enough ambulance personnel to take the first three injured parties,” Harwood said last year.
The fire crew tried to help those injured by cooling off their burns with water from fire hoses, while they waited for ambulances to arrive.
David White/Stuff
WorkSafe are warning employers and employees to act quickly if they smell gas.
According to WorkSafe’s area investigation manager Paul Budd, being “safe at work is a responsibility shared by both the employer and the employee and no one should be harmed because of a prank or joke gone wrong,”
“Our message is not about banning barbecues or restricting workplace socialising, but about keeping health and safety in mind whether you’re on the clock or taking a break together,” Budd said.
Budd said WorkSafe took “enforcement measures” in the immediate aftermath of the explosion, which Vuksich and Borich complied with.
“To further strengthen its safety management system, the company has since introduced a barbecue permit procedure and prohibits storage of gas cylinders or gas bottles inside shipping containers,” Budd said.
Budd added that WorkSafe weren’t carrying out “further enforcement” action, because it didn’t think prosecuting an individual or organisation was in the public interest in this instance.
WorkSafe’s Energy Safety team said the incident is a reminder of the risks that exist with gas and the consequences that can follow.
“If you smell gas anywhere, take it seriously,” Energy Safety’s technical officer Paul Stannard said.
“In some of the most significant gas-related events that have come to the attention of Energy Safety in the last few years, people have smelt gas but may not have recognised it as a warning sign.”
WorkSafe said they acknowledged Vuksich and Borich for the ongoing support it provided to the injured workers, as well as their cooperation throughout the investigation.
Vuksich and Borich have been approached for comment.
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