Killed: Slovakian Rene Tkacik was crushed to death by a tonne of wet concrete while working on a Crossrail building site

An experienced construction worker was crushed to death by a tonne of wet concrete while working on a Crossrail building site, an inquest heard today.

Slovakian Rene Tkacik was killed in a tunnel below Fisher Street, in Holborn, on March 7 last year, becoming the first fatality on the £15 billion project.

Mr Tkacik, of Hackney Road, east London, had been working in the UK to earn money to send home to his family in Slovakia so he could pay for his daughter Esther to go to university, a statement from his wife Renata said.

The court heard that Mr Tkacik, 44, 'didn't know what he was supposed to do' on some occasions because of his lack of English.

He was crushed by a tonne of concrete after he went to check the surface of the tunnel - suffering 'devastating injuries incompatible with life'.

He was employed by contractor BFK and had been working on the section of tunnel which had been widened.

His mother, widow and three sisters were in court today for the inquest at St Pancras Coroners Court.

Speaking to the family Coroner Mary Hassell said: 'I accepted that we will have a lot of detailed discussion about the matters of concrete spraying.

'But I recognise at the heart of all of this is your loved one.'

In a statement read in court Mr Tkacik's widow Renata said she last saw her husband five days before his death.

She said: 'He studied as a miner and worked as a blaster in a uranium mine.

'When he worked in the mine he was responsible for people's lives. He worked in different countries.

'He moved to Spain and worked there as a cement sprayer and he had huge experience in that. He was well read and taught himself Spanish.'

She explained he came to the UK to work on Crossrail as a concrete sprayer to raise money to send his daughter to university.

She said: 'To work on Crossrail he had to complete four exams which he passed first time. Not many people were admitted to the project and he did the exams in Spanish

First casualty: The 44-year-old construction worker was the first fatality on the £15 billion project (file picture)

'He had difficult living conditions and wasn't able to sleep properly and was constantly tired. His English was rudimentary and he was working with a lot of people speaking English. At times he didn't know what he was supposed to do.

She added: 'He would take a dictionary to work and people were rude to him because he didn't understand them.

'He had become so tired and found himself a flat. I came to visit him there and I hardly recognised him, he had got out of his sleep routine and found it hard to get back into it. The 2nd of March was the last time I saw him.'

The court also heard how he kept to himself in the evenings and would call his wife instead of meeting up with co-workers as he did not drink and never did drugs.

The jury also heard from Metropolitan police detective sergeant Kavin McGrath who showed the jury a digital image of the tunnel where Mr Tkacik had been working when he died.

He showed the court where the machine which had been spaying the concrete on to the walls of the tunnel and where the concrete had fallen.

He said: 'At the time of the fall, the concrete spraying machine had run out of concrete and was waiting to be refilled.

'It appeared the deceased was in an exclusion area underneath the concrete. He also had a shovel in his hand at the time the concrete fell.

Scene of the accident: Mr Tkacik was killed in a tunnel below Fisher Street, in Holborn on March 7 last year

'It was just under a tonne of concrete that came down, which is the equivalent of a bag of building sand.'

The detective added: 'It happened within a second and people further up the tunnel came down to help and they pulled him away from the danger zone and tried to resuscitate him.'

An ambulance crew were first called to the scene and then the London Air Ambulance but he was pronounced dead at the scene at 6.14am.

Before the start of proceedings campaigners and union members who were part of the Construction Safety Campaign protested outside calling for a full investigation into the health and safety of Crossrail.

The coroner heard submissions from the family's legal team for the evidence from two witnesses to be heard, who would have given information about the safety processes at other Crossrail sites.

However the request was rejected by the Ms Hassle who said: 'There is a danger this inquest will turn into a review of Crossrail, this inquest cannot do that and this is not a public inquiry to consider Crossrail's operations across London.