NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Police, state and federal safety officials on Thursday continued to piece together the chain of events that led to the deaths of two shipyard workers at Marine Hydraulics International in Norfolk a day earlier.
The initial response
Emergency crews responded to MHI, located at 1215 Warrington Ave. near the Midtown Tunnel, for a technical rescue, officials said. Dispatchers confirmed they received the first call at 7:46 a.m. about the incident.
Norfolk Police were called to the area to assist Norfolk Fire-Rescue around 8:10 a.m.
A man was pronounced dead at the scene, and another person was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. The other person later died, shipyard officials said Wednesday afternoon.
“We are deeply saddened to confirm the passing of two shipyard workers after an incident at MHI Ship Repair’s midtown facility this morning,” MHI said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, as well as with the many impacted workers at our facility. We are committed to supporting them through this difficult time. Safety is our top priority at MHI, and we will work within our own team and with local authorities to investigate the cause of this incident.”
While workers on the ship where the incident occurred were sent home for the day, the rest of the shipyard continued their normal operations. One worker who wishes to remain anonymous told 10 On Your Side’s Karina F. Garcia about his experience.
“We’re still working, but, you know, I’m still traumatized a little bit,” he said. “You hear something like that, it’s going to change the rest of your day, it’s not going to make you like, ‘ah man, let me back to work,’ it’s like, nah it’s going to be on my mind. It’s going to make me think about the things I do. Like what kind of environment do I work in? How safe is it, you know?”
MHI had no further comment on the incident as of Wednesday afternoon.
The investigation, company background
The shipyard has received a series of four citations back in March 2021 on the USS Normandy, the first improperly rigged equipment, in which a failed knot caused a load to fall, fracturing an employee’s foot. The second citation faulted the company for failing to assess worksite hazards, which also led to that injury.
A third citation revealed that workers were using an inadequate anchor point, exposing them to a nine-foot fall.
“You’ve just got to make sure that you’ve tied off stuff and [have] taken the proper safety precautions and making sure people are safe around you,” said one worker.
In all cases, the company was required to provide proof of corrective actions.
Now, the company is at the center of a new investigation.
“I know that the feds were here and that they’re doing an investigation, and that’s it,” another worker said.
10 On Your Side reached out to the OSHA and Norfolk Police, as well as the state Department of Labor and public affairs, who said they cannot confirm any other details about the incident other than the loss of life. The state agency said it had six months to complete its investigation. 10 On Your Side also reached out to Titan, the parent company of MHI Ship Repair. They did not replay back to a request for comment.
Some workers onsite said there could have been an elevator malfunction that caused Wednesday’s incident, but officials did not respond to requests for comment about that.
“Potentially, either the hydraulic system on the elevator, on the door itself, maybe a gateway, maybe there’s a valve that gave loose,” the second worker said. “But there’s procedures that should be followed to prevent all that stuff, and I’m sure they’re investigating whether or not it was followed.”
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.