Hydropower plant fatality - New York

[DandyDon]

Updated: Diver dies at Batten Kill hydropower plant

GREENWICH — State Police are investigating a fatal accident that occurred Friday morning at a hydropower plant on the Batten Kill that claimed the life of a commercial diver.

The incident was reported at the former Dahowa Hydro power plant off county Route 53, near the hamlet of Middle Falls. The diver, Steven F. Wingard, 25, of Falls Village, Connecticut, died while underwater in a pool below the hydro plant.

State Police said Wingard was working for a company identified as Commercial Diver Systems to clean an underwater drain valve at the hydro plant when some sort of accident occurred. How he came to be injured was still under investigation Friday afternoon, State Police Senior Investigator Robert Stampfli said.


Stampfli said Wingard was the only diver in the water, and was connected to a crew on land via an "umbilical" cord with an oxygen line.

"There was some sort of event that caused them to pull him back up" and he was unconscious, Stampfli said.

Exactly what occurred remained under investigation later Friday, Stampfli said. But there was no indication of foul play.

The accident was reported just after 9:30 a.m. Easton-Greenwich Rescue Squad members and Middle Falls firefighters responded, bu efforts to revive the man with CPR were unsuccessful.

Dahowa Hydro sold the 10.5-megawatt plant to Gravity Renewables earlier this year, according to an article on Renewable Energy World's website.


Numerous streams and rivers in the region were running very high Friday after Thursday's rain, and the Batten Kill was running at nearly triple its median flow for June 21 as of Friday morning. Stampfli said it was unclear whether the drain issue was related to the rain, or was regularly scheduled maintenance.

Julie Smith-Galvin, a spokeswoman for Gravity Renewables, said the company was trying to figure out what occurred as well.

"Our thoughts are with Mr. Wingard's family, friends and loved ones," she said in an email. "We appreciate the work of all those involved in responding to this morning's emergency call. We are working closely and cooperatively with local authorities to investigate what caused today's tragedy."

 

[Steelyeyes]

Stuff like this was one reason my son stopped diving commercially.

 

[wgw04024]

Think there will ever be an update?

 

[rjack321]

Think there will ever be an update?

For commercial dive injuries there's almost always an investigation by the state designed OSHA agency. CONN-OSHA in this case. Expect such an investigation to take 4 to 12 months.

 

[DandyDon]

A followup article said "An autopsy performed on the diver who died at a hydropower plant in Greenwich last week found he died from "blunt force trauma" to his torso, according to State Police." They can't determine how he was so injured, or for that matter if it happened during the dive, on entry, or before the dive and lead to his death.

It also mentions that "Wingard was a Connecticut state champion as a high school wrestler in 2012."

Full article at Police: Diver died of 'trauma' at Greenwich mill