THE OPERATOR of the tractor who was trapped in his vehicle for more than four hours is alive, unharmed and back on the job.
Ministry of Transport and Works (MTW) employee Gregory Branch told the MIDWEEK NATION yesterday the incident occurred around 2 p.m. on Monday along the Brighton section of the Spring Garden Highway, but the tractor was not extricated until 3 a.m. Tuesday. He was lifted out beforehand by another tractor.
Branch, who has been an operator for around 20 years, said he did not panic when his tractorvator started to sink as it would take more than that to make him afraid.
“If you go down, you stick it out, you don’t ever jump out. Staying inside, you’ve got a better chance of staying alive as the tractor is built so the carriage can take the weight, but if you jump out, you don’t know which way the tractor might roll,” he said.
Branch was sitting in a vehicle near the scene watching another MTW operator place dirt over the area where he went down. He said he remained unruffled.
“I was clearing out the drain and there was just a sudden drop. There was water rising up but it was a small thing, I don’t get frighten so.”
Another worker, who declined to be identified, explained what happened.
“It was just a little mishap where there was a suck hole and after high tide came in, the tractorvator got stuck. That whole area was a pond years ago but we are filling it in now so, hopefully, nothing like that will happen again,” he said.
The worker said the tractor did not turn over; it just sank and was eventually pulled out by two other tractors.
He added that the work to clear the drain would be completed today. (CA)
