A trainee worker was taken to hospital after being thrown 8m down a bank at the Dunedin Botanic Garden yesterday.
The worker, a contractor from the Malcam Charitable Trust, suffered moderate injuries when the ride-on lawnmower he was operating rolled over a bank in the upper garden about 11.10am.
Station officer Ed Oskam, of Willowbank, said firefighters were called to assist St John in recovering the injured man from down the bank.
A stokes basket was required, he said.
"It was an 8m drop he had,'' Mr Oskam said.
"There wasn't a seatbelt, so he wasn't attached to it [the mower] luckily, because he could have been a lot more hurt.
"If he had been strapped to it, he would have been a lot worse.''
The mower had rolled upside down, but the man was thrown clear and it did not roll over him.
He was in "a lot of pain'' when firefighters arrived, he said.
A St John spokesman said paramedics were called to the scene after the accident was reported by a member of the public.
The man was taken to Dunedin Hospital by ambulance with moderate injuries, he said.
It is understood he suffered shoulder and upper body injuries.
A WorkSafe spokeswoman said WorkSafe was notified of the incident and was "making preliminary inquiries'' to establish whether an investigation was required.
Dunedin City Council parks and recreation group manager Richard Saunders said council staff were investigating the incident.
Parks and recreation staff were investigating alongside health and safety staff.
"He was one of our trainee workers,'' he said.
The man was working for the Malcam Charitable Trust, which was contracted to perform the work, he said.
He was not being supervised at the time of the incident, but had been trained how to use the mower.
"We take the health and safety of all staff seriously,'' Mr Saunders said.
"Given it involved an injury, it's a very high priority and the investigation will be ongoing and into next week.''
