A RAILWAY worker who was seriously injured while working on overhead lines last month has died.
A RAILWAY worker who was seriously injured while working on overhead lines last month has died.
Malcolm Slater, from Harold Wood, was one of three workers hurt when the metal basket of a hoist fell away from its hydraulic arm at Margaretting on June 11.
Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, said: “Malcolm was only a few months away from retirement and the tragedy is that this accident should clearly never have happened, not least because concerns about the inadequacy of the single weld attaching the basket to its arm had been raised with Network Rail.
“The accident is now being investigated by the railways inspectorate and of course the union will do everything it can to assist it, but it is essential that these machines are not allowed back into service until appropriate remedial action is taken.”
Network Rail has withdrawn similar machines from use pending an investigation into the accident.
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