Excavator operator survives after being speared in head by steel pole

Updated Aug 21, 2013
Credit: CareFlight via smh.com.auCredit: CareFlight via smh.com.au

Exposed rebar on a jobsite near Sydney, Austrailia pierced the floor of an excavator cabin and speared the operator in the head last week.

And somehow, he survived.

According to a report from the Sydney Morning Herald, the pole came up through the floor of the excavator before it “curved around and struck him in the forehead.”

Firefighters who responded to the emergency call were able to remove most of the pole from the operator’s head, but a part of it remained embedded.

A CareFlight helicopter, doctor and paramedic all assisted with care at the scene before the man was taken by ambulance to Royal North Shore Hospital for treatment.

Throughout the removal procedure, the operator remained conscious.

Working around exposed rebar is obviously very dangerous. Always a good idea to be extremely cautious around the stuff and take a look at what OSHA has to say about it.