Construction worker crushed by girder

A 26-year-old Polish subcontractor has been seriously injured after being crushed by a steel girder.

The man, employed by Trant Construction, was working on the £350m Marchwood industrial power station in Hampshire for Siemens Power Generation when the accident happened at around 2.30pm yesterday afternoon.

The man was trapped underneath the girder for nearly an hour. A Siemens spokesman told CJ that details were still sketchy at this stage but it is though that the 'girder' may actually have been a stop log, used to block the flow of water.

In a statement he said: "The man involved in an incident today at the Marchwood site was a 26 year old employee of Polish origin working as a fitter for Trant Construction Limited who are sub-contractors on the site where Siemens are building the gas-fired combined cycle power plant at the site.

"It is too early to say exactly what happened and we are looking into to the circumstances as a matter of urgency, however we understand that the man became trapped at his mid-riff. He was released very quickly and was taken to hospital immediately where he is receiving treatment. His immediate family has been informed and Trant are giving every assistance and support they can in the circumstances."

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is now investigating and the area where the accident took place has been cordoned off.

Trant Construction was not available for comment.

The Marchwood power plant is a joint project of ESBI International and Scottish and Southern Energy.

Siemens Power Generation is the main contractor. The plant will generate 840 MW of electricity with two gas turbines and one steam turbine when it is completed in summer 2009.