Worker killed in North Dakota crane accident
Fatality: In North Dakota
20 May 2016 04:50 GMT
Caroline Evans
21 June 2016 21:28 GMT
A US oilfield worker has died after being struck by a crane boom while working near the town of Ross, North Dakota.
The 36-year-old was an employee of Advanced Energy, a Michigan-based drilling contractor, according to the US Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Osha).
The incident happened at about 10:30 pm local time Monday night as a work crew was taking pipe out of the ground to replace a survey tool that was about 650 feet to 700 feet in the ground, according to Osha.
The employee was struck and killed by the boom as it descended.
The news comes days after another oilfield worker was killed in a fire at an XTO Energy well site in neighbouring McKenzie County. Three other workers were injured in the blaze.
"This has been a tragic week in the Bakken region, and we at Osha offer our condolences to the family and friends of these workers," said Eric Brooks, Osha's area director in Bismarck.
"The oil and gas industry is inherently dangerous, and workers are exposed to multiple hazards every day."
The agency has launched an investigation.
A request to Advanced Energy for comment was not immediately answered.