A machine operator was taken to Nanaimo hospital after a pavement compactor went over a seven-metre embankment this afternoon.
At 1:10 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 30, the machine toppled off Albert Street; the cause is still unknown.
Workers at the scene said the compactor, involved in paving operations on Albert Street west of Kennedy Street, was heading downhill when the incident occurred and the operator was unable to stop the machine from rolling.
Capt. Tom Krall, scene commander with Nanaimo Fire Rescue, said firefighters were anticipating a technical rope rescue when they responded to the alarm.
“As we arrived on scene, I was updated by [the construction] supervisor who stated that the operator went over the bank in the machine, but he was since walking out under his own power,” Krall said. “He appeared uninjured, but he has gone to the hospital for observation.”
Krall said the fire department’s main concern following the incident was the environmental impact of any possible fluid leakage from the compactor into a watercourse farther down the embankment and firefighters had placed booms and absorbent material to catch a small amount of leaking diesel.
Milestone Equipment Contracting is the primary contractor and Hub City Paving the subcontractor for the job. Krall didn’t know which of the two contractors the machine belongs to.
Nanaimo RCMP were also on scene investigating the incident.
One machine operator taken to hospital after a pavement compactor went over an embankment on Albert Street and down 7-metre embankment. Unknown why machine went out of control. @NanaimoBulletin pic.twitter.com/mOit3Vv1Sf
— Chris Bush (@ChrisBushphotog) October 30, 2023
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