Charges laid over Vic milk factory death

Two companies and an engineer have been charged over a 2017 workplace accident at a former Victorian milk processing plant that left a man dead and another seriously injured.

A 59-year-old man was killed and the other man injured after machinery fell on the pair while they were trying to load equipment into a shipping container at Leitchville, near Echuca, in December 2017.

WorkSafe on Friday charged A-1 Engineering with eight counts of failing to provide a safe working environment, while Big Hill Cranes was charged with four counts of failing to ensure their work did not expose people other than workers to risks.

An engineer, who was absent on the day of the incident, also faces four charges over his alleged failure to take reasonable care as the manager of the workplace.

The matter is listed for a filing hearing in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on December 18.