- Wednesday March 10th, 2010
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Rice company fined over death of Gravesend employee
A Medway business has been fined £140,000 after the horrific death of one of its employees.
Balwinder Singh Aulkh had been working for Veetee Rice, on Medway City Estate, for 12 years when the accident happened in September 2006.
The 46 year old miller got his leg trapped in an under floor screw conveyor, after investigating an issue with the rice flow. Several hours passed in the grain silo while attempts to reverse the conveyor failed. Emergency Services had to amputate his leg to free him, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at Hospital.
Judge Jeremy Carey stated that it “must have been a truly horrendous experience for this poor man. Waiting in that silo to be removed must have been pure hell for him”.
The company turned over £46m last year and has admitted breaching health and safety regulation in regards to machinery. Quentin Hunt, the Prosecutor for the case, said the accident could easily have been avoided with the procurement of a cheap padlock to prevent workers from entering.
Mike Walters, Health and Safety Executive Principal Inspector in Kent, said: “This incident could so easily have been prevented if Veetee Rice Limited had ensured that a suitable system was in place to prevent access to the silo unless the screw conveyor was electrically isolated."
“HSE will not tolerate employers exposing their workers to unacceptable levels of risk in the workplace and this case highlights the fact that something as simple and cheap as a padlock could have prevented someone being killed at work."
