Tree surgeon killed by his own chainsaw in south London
A tree surgeon was fatally injured on Wednesday in a chainsaw accident while working in a garden in Bermondsey, south London.
Father-of-one Gregery Bulbuc, 31, died at the scene after his chainsaw reportedly “kicked back” into his neck while he was on a ladder trimming a tree in a private backyard.
The victim, from Romania, worked for Aralia Tree Services.
His brother Ioan Bulbuc, 27, said: “He was the perfect brother. He was a dad, he has one boy who is one year old. We lived together in the same house in Beckenham.”
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Gregery had reportedly been in the UK since around 2001 and had been working as a tree surgeon for the past 10 years.
“He was always so happy. He was so happy to have a little boy. Gregery's birthday was next week, he was such a happy person,” his brother added.
According to Ioan, Gregery was left dangling from his rope after the chainsaw “rebounded” on his neck.
“I was working on a tree myself. I got a phone call, it was horrible. It is the second most dangerous job in the world. It was just a terrible accident.”
A London Ambulance Service (LAS) spokesman said the victim was pronounced dead at the scene despite efforts to save him.
“We sent an ambulance crew, a single responder in a car, a paramedic on a motorcycle, an incident response officer and our Hazardous Area Response Team to the scene,” a spokesman for the LAS said.
“We also dispatched London’s Air Ambulance. Sadly, despite the extensive efforts of our crews, a patient died at the scene.”
A witness told the London Evening Standard that “a lot of blood” could be seen in the surrounding area of the accident.
“There was a lot of blood on the roof of the school next door where the tree was hanging over.
“I saw them giving him CPR and blood. It is very serious.
“I was on the fourth floor of the estate across the road after the emergency services got there and could see into the garden.
“I saw the ladder, the ropes and chainsaw, and the man on the floor.”
A Metropolitan police spokesman said: “This is believed to be a workplace accident and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will be informed in due course.”
