A worker at a Volkswagen factory in Germany has died, after a robot grabbed him and crushed him against a metal plate.
The 22-year-old man died in hospital after the accident at a plant in Baunatal, 100km north of Frankfurt.
He was working as part of a team of contractors installing the robot when it grabbed him, according to the German car manufacturer.
Heiko Hillwig, from Volkswagen, blamed “human error” rather than the robot.
He said: “It [robot] can be programmed to perform various tasks in the assembly process.
“It normally operates within a confined area at the plant, grabbing auto parts and manipulating them.”
Another contractor was there at the time when the accident happened, on Monday, but wasn’t harmed,
He declined to give any more details about the case, citing an “ongoing investigation”.
German news agency dpa reported that prosecutors were now investigating and deciding who to prosecute.
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Source: BBC