A 59-year-old city worker was killed, and two others sustained injuries on Saturday.
According to police, the NYPD received a 911 call about a person underwater around 10:30 AM and quickly dispatched units to the scene alongside the FDNY.
Just before 11:00 AM, the FDNY responded to an explosion involving a boat transporting raw sewage to the Hudson River.
The incident took place near West 138th Avenue, where authorities discovered that a large explosion had compromised the vessel’s hull.
This explosion caused workers from the New York City Environmental Protection Agency to be thrown into the water, effectively trapping them between the boat and a pier, resulting in the fatality.
Two other DEP employees on the boat were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment; one of them was injured.
Their current conditions have not been disclosed.
At the time of the explosion, the boat was anchored and was ferrying raw sewage from the city to an adjacent treatment facility.
After the explosion, water rescue teams searched for workers who had fallen between the vessel and the dock.
Investigators suspect that welding operations conducted near the boat could have triggered the explosion, highlighting that fresh sewage poses a risk due to its methane gas emissions.
FDNY representatives noted that it is too early to conclude whether the explosion was accidental.
NYPD’s harbor units, emergency services, and air units joined forces with DEP officials, Emergency Management, and FDNY at the site. A medical inspector was also called in on Saturday.
The DEP released a statement expressing sorrow over the loss of the worker, who had dedicated 33 years to the job. Rohit T. Aggarwala, a DEP committee member, stated, “The entire DEP family is saddened today. Our employee who lost his life was a valued and experienced member of the Wastewater Treatment Bureau, and his decades of service reflect his commitment to our mission.”
