A Tongan man who is in Australia under the country’s Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP) has suffered severe burns after what appeared to be a freak barbeque accident.
Sione Lāvalu was rushed to Brisbane’s Royal Hospital on Sunday.
He was provided medical assistance yesterday while he was reportedly in a coma.
The family hope for the best and asked for prayers on social media.
“We hope he will wake up. Don’t stop praying Sione is fighting for his life,” his brother Manase Lavalu wrote on Facebook in Tongan.
Manase told Kaniva News an ambulance had picked up Sione from the property in which he lived after a “bbq accident’.
He said it appeared methylated spirits or benzine had been involved.
Manase claimed an investigation was underway to confirm the cause of injuries.
He said he was informed about the alleged accident after a person from Sione’s Tongan SWP group contacted his aunty in Logan.
Manase lived in Sydney but he flew to Brisbane to see Sione.
The incident comes amid investigations in Perth after another Tongan SWP employee was allegedly beaten.
In the Perth case, Tonga’s Minister of Internal Affairs said the safety of the SWP employees is paramount and priority and his Ministry was investigating the incident.
