A crane driver has been killed in an accident at one of the refugee facilities on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island.
Workers inspect the fallen crane at West Lorengau Haus. Photo: supplied
His mobile crane tipped over while lifting a generator at West Lorengau Haus.
The journalist and refugee Behrouz Boochani said the driver, who worked for the company NKW, was trying to install the generator at the neighbouring refugee facility Hillside Haus.
He said the man was thrown from the cab and crushed as the crane rolled.
The island's police chief David Yapu has confirmed the death.
"The driver of the crane, he got himself trapped in the crane and he killed himself. They were trying to do some construction work at the new site for the refugees," he said.
Construction at the island's refugee facilities is continuing despite claims made by the Australian government in November that they were near completion.
In January, the United Nations refugee agency found there were not enough toilets and showers for 114 refugees it estimated were in Hillside Haus and 142 in West Haus.
The forced return of about three dozen refugees to Manus from Port Moresby this month may be exacerbating reported overcrowding at the facilities.
This week, the PNG immigration authority announced plans to return more refugees from the capital to the island.
