Government staff are this afternoon attempting to rescue a mechanical digger, which was driven overboard at the Airport Waste Management Facility.

One witness told The Royal Gazette: “One of the drivers has driven an excavator overboard. People from Government are down here. They are trying to rescue it at the moment. They are probably going to have to get a crane or a barge.

“Thankfully it doesn’t look like anyone was hurt.”

This evening a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Works confirmed that “a dangerous occurrence” took place involving an excavator belonging to an external contractor working on behalf of the Ministry of Public Works.

“The Ministry is grateful to report that there were no injuries,” the spokesman said.

“The incident occurred this afternoon when in the process of extending the land reclamation area in the southeast corner of the Airport Waste Management Facility the excavator tracked on unstable ground and slipped into the sea. The operator jumped to safety and was not injured. Approximately half of the excavator undercarriage is submerged underwater.

“The Ministry of Public Works personnel are working with the owner of the excavator and have hired a floating barge in the hope that the excavator might be salvageable.

“Under the Occupational Safety & Health Regulations 2009 this incident is classified as a dangerous occurrence. The incident will be fully investigated.

“The Ministry would like to thank staff at the Facility for their response to this incident, and are thankful that there were no injuries. Our prayers are with the equipment operator who must be terribly shaken by this incident.”