New Zealand / Regional

Man suffers electric shock at Chch plant

11:16 am on 16 June 2016

A man is seriously hurt after an electric shock and others have been treated for smoke inhalation at the Ravensdown fertiliser plant in Christchurch

Photo: 123rf.com

The electrical fault resulted in part of the plant, in the suburb of Hornby, becoming choked with smoke, at about 9.20am this morning.

The seriously injured man has been taken to hospital.

Five other workers were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, said a St Johns spokesperson.

Fire Service spokesperson Andrew Norris said it was unclear how close the electrical fault was to the highly flammable fertiliser stored at the plant.

"We've still got one crew there, their job is to make sure the scene is safe.

"As a result of the fault there has been an area has been smoke-logged, so they are ventilating that and just checking to make sure everything's safe," Mr Norris said.