A woman is receiving treatment at Lenakel Hospital after suffering serious injuries to her right leg yesterday when a wire struck her at the wharf in Tanna.

A family member, Erick Ialulu, told VBTC News the incident happened while a forklift was offloading wire from a ship that had just arrived at the Lenakel wharf.

“The ship arrived at Lenakel and a young girl was walking to the wharf. The forklift carrying wire fell on her leg and broke her bone. The wire was on top of her and she was crying. Families were trying to rescue her and the police came to take her to the hospital. All the bones in her leg were broken and families were crying,” Mr Ialulu explained.

He said the woman is from Tanna and believed to be in her 30s.

“Her right leg has major damage. Her left leg has minor injuries and her hand is slightly injured.”

In a Facebook post last night, Central Tanna Area Administrator John Bill strongly appealed to the public to take extra care when approaching the wharf to collect cargo or greet family members.

A local resident also pointed out that safety must be a priority and better organisation is needed for unloading cargo and managing passengers.