A 39-year-old Christchurch man has been crushed to death in a lift shaft at Fonterra's Edendale plant.
Ambulance staff found the contractor dead from a "crushing injury" in the shaft at the Edendale plant just after 11am yesterday morning.
The man had been missing for about 12 hours when the ambulance was called, Sergeant Wing-Wah Ng, of Invercargill, said.
He had been working on the lift when he had become lodged between it and a bracket.
The man's name would not be released until his family were all notified.
The Department of Labour is investigating the incident.
The man was a contractor who had been working on a $212 million expansion due to be commissioned in the next fortnight, a Fonterra spokeswoman said.
"Our thoughts are with the contractor's family, colleagues and friends at this terrible time."
He was working on installing the plant's fourth milk drier.
Between 400 and 450 contractors from throughout New Zealand have been working on the project, which will make the Edendale plant the world's largest dairy processing site.
It is the second incident this year where a person working on a Fonterra site has died.
Theodorus Rangihu Blake (52), of New Plymouth, was crushed to death at the company's Hawera, Taranaki, plant in January.
The Department of Labour is also investigating an incident in which a contractor on Tuesday fell through the roof of the former Fisher and Paykel plant at Mosgiel, which is being converted into a Fonterra dry store.
It is understood the man fell about 4m and sustained serious head injuries.
No update on the man's condition was available yesterday.
