Worker At Port of Palm Beach Dies in Barge Accident UPDATE

UPDATE: The original post to this story reported that that worker that was killed was a Port of Palm Beach employee. However, the man was working at the port, but was not a Port of Palm Beach employee.A man working at the Port of Palm Beach was killed in barge an...

By Chris Joseph

May 23, 2013

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UPDATE: The original post to this story reported that that worker that was killed was a Port of Palm Beach employee. However, the man was working at the port, but was not a Port of Palm Beach employee.

A man working at the Port of Palm Beach was killed in barge an accident in Slip 3 at the port, according to Riviera Beach police.

A spokesperson for the Port of Palm Beach confirmed the worker's death happened shortly before noon on Thursday, but has not yet revealed the person's identity.

Initial reports had Riviera Beach Fire Rescue and haz mat crews on hand to investigate a possible chemical emergency, but those report seem to be erroneous.

The worker, likely working construction at the port, reportedly went into the bottom part of a barge and never came back up. Early reports indicate that the man was trapped in the barge, where he died.

Another worker did go to check on him, but found the man lying face down, according to police.

The initial fears was that the man had succumbed to chemical fumes and passed out from them, but haz mat officials confirmed there was no such emergency.

What isn't known is how the man might have fallen to the bottom of the barge, but every indication seems to be that it was an accident.

We'll update this story as we get more information

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