Rio Tinto has launched an investigation after an employee crushed their own work ute with a haul truck.

Reports say the driver of the light vehicle was performing maintenance on the haul truck at the Brockman 4 iron ore mine near Tom Price, when the larger vehicle moved into a postion on top of the smaller ute.

The haul truck was fitted with technology to run without a driver, but it was operating in manual mode at the time of the incident.

The driver was not injured, but the ute was seriously mangled.

“Safety is our top priority,” a Rio Tinto spokesperson has told reporters.

“The ongoing internal investigation will seek to identify measures to ensure such incidents are avoided in the future.”

Officers from WA’s Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) “have attended the scene and are making enquiries”, according to director of mines safety Andrew Chaplyn.