Essex rail worker dies after hoist collapse

By pmeyler

A RAIL worker has died three weeks after falling from a cherry picker onto tracks in Margaretting.

Malcolm Slater, from Harold Wood in Essex, was one of three workers seriously injured when the metal basket of a hoist fell away from its hydraulic arm.

The 64-old-year died last night, Wednesday, after sustaining serious head and spine injuries when he fell more than 20ft.

All three men had been repairing overhead lines on the Norwich to London line, when the accident happened on June 11.

Mr Slater's two colleagues received less serious injuries.

A Network Rail spokesman said: “We are deeply saddened and our immediate thoughts are with Malcolm's family and friends in their time of loss.”

The cherry pickers were being use to repair overhead lines brought down by a train.

Network Rail has withdrawn the apparatus from its sites while safety checks are carried out.