The Forestry Forum

This from the local newspaper..
Not much detail as to how and why... but ouch  :o



Man's hand reattached after sawmill incident
22 April 2004  

A Masterton man who had his hand severed yesterday while working at a sawmill has had the hand successfully reattached.


Police said the man, 22, had his right hand cleanly amputated at the wrist at 10am yesterday while he was working at Whittaker's Sawmilling .

Constable Stu Martindale said police had been notified as a matter of procedure and there was no suspicious circumstances.

He said the man was airlifted to Hutt Hospital where surgeons worked for 14 hours to reattach the severed hand.

Hutt Hospital today said the man's condition was satisfactory.

Whittaker's manager John Whittaker said the successful reattachment was excellent news and his company was now working with Occupational Safety and Health staff who are investigating the incident.

He said it was the first such serious incident the company had had in its 20 years of operation.

OSH inspector Noel Wells said an investigation was under way. The sawing machine had been taken out of commission while the investigation was carried out.

He said he believed the injured man was a relatively new worker at the saw mill. "

Yeah, OUCH!!!

Would you mind updating us if you hear what the investigation finds?

Whittaker's Sawmilling ??? ???  Didn't know I had relatives in NZ and they've even got sawmill 8) 8) 8)  Hope the fellas with the re-attached body parts makes a satisfactory recovery