The man killed when a fuel tank he was working on exploded in an industrial area of Hamilton has been named as Kenneth Joseph Crown.
Hamilton fire chief Roy Breeze says the 55-year-old was carrying out maintenance on an empty 5000-litre fuel tank with a blow torch when it blew up, killing him instantly.
Mr Breeze says it would not have taken much in the way of fumes or residue to cause an explosion.
He says the Hamilton man's colleagues and then emergency workers tried in vain to resuscitate him. No-one else was injured in the explosion, which occurred at about 2pm on Tuesday.
The site of the explosion, at Petroleum Services in the northern suburb of Pukete, was cordoned off. Police and Department of Labour were investigating and the death has been referred to the Coroner.
The incident comes almost a fortnight after a bitumen tank explosion at a Fulton Hogan site in Greymouth, which killed a 21-year-old contract worker.
