The 42-year-old man killed in an ink vat in western Sydney on Thursday has been remembered as a devoted father of three young boys.
Craig Tanner, of Engadine, in Sydney’s south, died after he was trapped by a mixing blade that abruptly began moving.
‘It is so terrible and so heartbreaking,’ one woman posted on Facebook. ‘Such a happy, delightful young man, full of life and love.
‘So sad for the family, Rachel and the boys we will hold you up with love.’
Another wrote: ”Craig always brought his smile, and left you with one’.
Craig Tanner, 42, was killed in a horrific industrial accident at Auburn on Thursday; tributes were flowing for the Engadine father-of-three on social media on Friday afternoon
Father-of-three Craig Tanner, who was killed in an industrial accident on Thursday, was described by friends as a devoted family man, ‘full of life and love’
‘So sad for the family, Rachel and the boys we will hold you up with love’ – tributes to Craig Tanner, who was killed in an ink factory on Thursday were flowing on social media
Mr Tanner, who ran Complete Blasting Services, was cleaning inside the vat at the Auburn factory when this blade swung into him and trapped his legs about 8.45am, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Another worker, 29, was injured while a third man, 28, sustained leg injuries when he tried to save his co-workers at the DIC Australia premises on Chisholm Road.
Mr Tanner was a contractor called to the site to clean the tank, paramedics said.
His surviving co-workers were a contractor and a DIC employee, who were freed by paramedics after also becoming trapped and are recovering in a stable condition at Westmead Hospital.
A man has died after being trapped inside an ‘extremely hot’ ink vat at a factory (pictured) in Sydney’s west
Craig Tanner, who ran Complete Blasting Services, was killed in an industrial accident on Thursday when he was trapped by a mixing blade in an ink factory
The incident occurred at DIC Australia factory on Chisholm Road in Auburn, western Sydney
Tributes were flowing for Mr Tanner on Friday.
‘You will live in our hearts forever,’ one woman wrote on Facebook.
‘You were one in a million with your ever ready smile, friendship and the love and support you showed to your family and friends. ‘
‘No words can express just how much you will be missed.’
Rescue crews were finally able to recover Mr Tanner’s body from the vat shortly before 3pm, more than six hours after the accident.
Despite the heroic efforts of his two colleagues who immediately rushed to his aid, he could not be saved
Rescue crews were finally able to recover the man’s body from the vat shortly before 3pm, more than six hours after the accident
A stretcher was seen being carried to the accident scene shortly after 1.20pm. The workers were reportedly trapped in a mixing arm of the ink vat.
NSW Ambulance superintendent Paul Turner said Mr Tanner had been trapped by his legs, describing the area as ‘a very difficult scene’, adding the rescue became more difficult because the deceased workers colleagues had jumped into the vat to try and save him.
‘There was still ink on the floor of the vat, which hampered rescue efforts and treatment,’ he told Daily Mail Australia. ‘It’s extremely hot inside the vat,’ he said.
Special operations paramedics have been dispatched to the six-metre high vat ‘shaped like a large battery’.
A man holds his head in his hands as he walks through the DIC Australia factory on Thursday
A van, believed to have belonged to the workers involved in the accident, leaves the factory
The front area of the Auburn factory in western Sydney where a worker died on Thursday
Three men were initially all conscious and talking when they were trapped about 8.45am on Thursday.
However, Mr Turner said Mr Tanner ‘deteriorated rapidly towards the end’.
Ten ambulances were needed, along with police and Fire and Rescue trucks.
The two rescued men were taken to Westmead Hospital, with one man suffering suspected leg injuries and the other leg fractures.
Ambulance parademics at the scene told Daily Mail Australia the injuries were likely to have been caused by falling into the vat instead of the chemicals inside.
‘This is a terrible tragedy,’ Mr Turner said later in a statement.
A police detective leaves the grounds of the factory where the man died on Thursday morning
A man dressed in protective clothing walks through the factory metres from where the accident occurred
NSW paramedics said they had done ‘absolutely everything we could’ to save the workers at the factory
‘We did absolutely everything we could.
‘It was a complex operation. We worked as quickly as we could to access these patients.’
Detectives established a crime scene and are investigating.
WorkCover NSW was preparing a report.