Forklift operator arrested after fatal accident

A forklift operator in Paphos has been arrested following the death of a blacksmith who fell to his death in a work-related accident over the weekend.

According to local media, a 53-year-old construction worker was killed in a work-related accident on Saturday when he fell to his death from a height of eight metres.

The incident took place at a construction site in Peyia, Paphos district, on Saturday morning around 10am.

Initital reports said the worker had fallen from a height of four metres, but police later issued a correction saying the height in question was determined to be eight metres.

Reports said the worker, described as a Greek national originally from Georgia, was standing possibly on scaffolding when a forklift man basket carrying two other workers struck the 53-year-old under circumstances still pending investigation.

The forklift operator, a 45-year-old male also from Georgia, was later arrested on reckless endangerment charges, while police told Knews they were investigating an occupational death following a labour accident.

A Paphos district judge on Saturday ordered the forklift operator in remanded custody for two days.

Another worker aged 43, who was one of the two employees inside the man basket, was injured during the incident and was taken to Paphos General Hospital for medical tests.