Finger pointed in film-set accident

Poor safety conditions on the New Zealand set of Peter Jackson’s remake of the movie “King Kong” were responsible for an accident last year that badly injured a worker, according to a safety investigation.

An Occupational Safety and Health agency report published this week on the accident last October blamed long hours and poor safety practices. The government-funded agency investigated the “King Kong” set in the Wellington suburb of Miramar after 46 pounds of scaffolding fell and hit two set workers.

One received cuts and the other suffered a concussion and a broken shoulder blade.

Labour Department chief advisor Mike Cosman said it was lucky no one was killed.

Melissa Booth, spokeswoman for Big Primate, the production company, said Friday that the firm had no comment on the report’s findings but had cooperated fully with the investigation. Big Primate is owned by Universal Studios.

In a letter to Big Primate, the safety agency said the production company had escaped prosecution because of uncertainty about scaffold locks used in rigging the set and because the seriously injured worker wanted work practices changed rather than having someone held accountable.

From Associated Press