A combination of faulty equipment, inadequate safety protocols and bad weather may have been responsible for the death of a Queensland floods hero.
Tugboat engineer Peter Fenton, 67, was killed when a crate being loaded onto a barge fell on top of him on Thursday.
Mr Fenton, alongside colleague Doug Hislop, helped steer a 200m section of river walkway clear of Brisbane’s Gateway Bridge during the January floods.
An inquest into his death heard today that a hook connected to the crate that fell on top of him had a faulty spring, which stopped it locking into place.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland inspector Kym Tollenaere said she discovered the fault after the ship’s crew told her heavy wind had caused the crate to fall.
Ship master Umesh Madhukar Dalvi told Coroner Michael Barnes that transferring the crate from the ship to the barge was a “common job” and there was no written safety procedure for it.
The inquest in Brisbane is continuing.
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