A WORKER was killed and two others injured when a sewage barge exploded on the Hudson River during New York City’s Fleet Week.
Around 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, an explosion occurred on a Department of Environmental Protection ship docked near West 138th Street in Manhattan, according to authorities.
The barge, tasked with carrying raw sewage to the North River Wastewater Treatment Plant, unexpectedly exploded, causing a 59-year-old man to be propelled into the water.
“Officials arrived at the scene to find a large explosion had ripped through the ship’s hull,” NYPD said.
The worker, who was welding the hull at the time of the explosion, became trapped between the vessel and the dock and later died of his injuries.
It is not yet clear whether the fatal wounds were caused by the blast itself or the impact after he was thrown into the water.
Two other DEP workers on board were rushed to nearby hospitals.
Their conditions were not immediately known.
Officials believe the blast might have been caused by a welding error that ignited flammable methane gas generated by the raw sewage during the procedure.
