Two young workers, who were injured when a steel container fell on top of them, were today making a good recovery.

One of the employees from Advante Strategic Site services, Paycocke Road, Basildon has been discharged from Basildon Hospital while the other is undergoing operations on his legs at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford.

Firefighters said the accident could have resulted in death had it not been for two quick-thinking colleagues, Dave Binyon and Malcolm Whitmore, who used a crane to lift the steel container off them.

The accident happened when the stabilisers of a flat-bed lorry that had been lifting the container sunk into soft mud, causing it to topple over.

The container then fell on the two men who had been directing the lorry. Their two colleagues used a nearby crane to lift it off them.

A 23-year-old man was air lifted to Broomfield Hospital suffering from a fractured leg, possible broken pelvis and abdominal injuries.

The other man, a 24-year-old, was taken to Basildon Hospital with minor facial and leg injuries. Basildon fire station officer Martin Pullen, said the men were '"very lucky".

Published Thursday September 2, 2004

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