Worker dies after cherry picker accident on Simons site

A subcontractor has died after an accident on Friday involving a ‘cherry picker’ on Simons Developments’ £40m Marriotts Close project in Witney, Oxfordshire.

Simons declined to comment on the cause of the accident but the HSE confirmed that the machine toppled over, trapping 28-year-old Altin Balla from Aberystwyth in Wales underneath it.

A spokeswoman for Oxfordshire Ambulance service told CJ that paramedics were called to the site at aroun 9am on Friday morning. Balla was “trapped under steel” and suffering from pressure on his neck.

He went into cardiac arrest and the ambulance crew tried to resuscitate him. He was then airlifted to hospital at around 9.30am.

A spokeswoman for Simons Development said: “We can confirm there was an accident on the Marriotts Close site in Witney last Friday.

“We immediately informed the police and the Health and Safety Executive, and we will be co-operating fully with them in the enquiries that will now take place. Until those enquiries are complete it would be wrong to speculate on any aspect of the accident.

“This was a tragic accident and our thoughts are very much with the young man’s relatives and friends.”