THE body of a worker who went missing while carrying out work at Melbourne's main sewage treatment plant has been found.

However, police say it will take some time to recover the body.

The 52-year-old Endeavour Hills man - who was working for Melbourne Water -  went missing while carrying out routine sampling work at Melbourne Water's Eastern Treatment Plant in Bangholme just after 7am (AEDT) yesterday.

Rescuers spent more than eight hours scouring the massive network of pipes, tanks and drains to find the body just after 8pm last night.

It was the third workplace death within 24 hours.

A 26-year-old man died in hospital from his head injuries after a 150kg piece of machinery fell 6m on to him at a Campbellfield boat manufacturing business yesterday afternoon, and a man died when he was struck by a street sweepers at a roadworks site in Bayswater on Wednesday night.

Terrible death

It is understood the man fell in a pumping system where the raw sewerage flows at about 6m per second.

Colleagues raised the alarm at about 8.45am after realising the man was missing, spotting his work equipment still at the side of the tank.

WorkSafe spokesman Michael Birt said how the man fell into the sewage tank was still being investigated, but that there were guard rails at the edge of the pit.

Melbourne Water managing director Shaun Cox expressed his shock and sadness at the news and extended his sincere condolences to the man's family and workmates.

"This is a very distressing time for his family and for us at Melbourne Water," Mr Cox said in a statement.

"Together with ALS Group, the sampling contractor, we are offering our full support to his family, colleagues, friends and our people.

"Safety is our highest priority and we'll be supporting Victoria Police and WorkSafe in their investigation.

"We'll also be conducting our own investigation."

Mr Birt said there hadn’t been three workplace deaths in Victoria in one day since May 2001.

"As far as fatalities go it’s certainly the worst day in 10 years,” Mr Birt said.

The Eastern Treatment Plant treats about 40 per cent of Melbourne’s sewage, about 330 million litres a day – with waste water coming from the city's southeast and eastern suburbs.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner. 

Man suffers head injuries in Laverton North

Meanwhile, a man was taken to hospital with critical head injuries after a workplace accident in Laverton North yesterday.

A WorkSafe spokeswoman said it appeared the man had been doing repair work underneath a dock leveler when it collapsed on him at about 1.30pm.

He sustained serious head injuries and was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition.

WorkSafe warning

The tragic incidents follow the deaths of a 73-year-old farmer gored by a bull, a 45-year-old man who fell to his death from a cherry picker, and a 46-year-old man who was crushed by a vehicle at a factory.

WorkSafe health and safety executive director Ian Forsyth warned employers against cutting corners to get jobs done ahead of Christmas.

"What we have seen in the last 10 days is a reminder of the bad old days," he said yesterday.

Mr Forsyth said Victoria had an enviable workplace safety record.

"It is ironic that Victorian workplaces have never been safer," he said.

"They are the safest in the country."

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