Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Port of Tampa longshoreman killed by falling pipe, co-worker injured

A St. Petersburg, Fla. longshoreman was killed and a co-worker hurt when a load of steel pipes fell on them aboard a ship in the Port of Tampa on Tuesday. Two other stevedores were present but not injured.

Hercules Gilmore, 56, died in the accident, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's office. Andre Futrell was being treated at Tampa General Hospital for non-fatal injuries.

Tampa fire rescue trucks were sent to Berth 201, where the cargo ship Honesty Ocean was docked, according to Fire Chief Emilio Salavarria.

The International Longshoreman's Association workers were in the cargo hold bundling 4-inch steel pipes for a crane when a bundle broke open, said the sheriff's office. The pipes crashed down upon all four men. Salavarria said the pipes were being moved in 1-ton bundles.

"They were moving about 10 (bundles) at a time when the straps gave way and dropped that bundle onto the deck of the ship, onto the dock and back inside the hull of the ship where the workers were working to bundle the material to have it removed from the ship itself," Salavarria said.

"The pipes that came back crashing down into the cargo hold came down at many different angles and many different sides ... causing a very unstable and uneven platform for our emergency workers to work in in order to reach those two that were trapped," he said.

For more of the Tampa Bay Online story: www2.tbo.com

More Newswire stories

ILA-USMX update: Parties continue to meet on "outstanding issues"

Canadian Pacific and Canadian Northern railways third quarter profits rise

C.H. Robinson third quarter profits improve

Delta air cargo business tops U.S. rivals

CSX names Indiana logistics park a key distribution and manufacturing site

Today's Cargo News Archives

Click to browse past stories on these topics:

Logistics

Ports & Infrastructure

Economic Outlook

Environmental Impact

Technology