One person died and three were injured after the research vessel Urania suddenly heeled portside and listed some 30 degrees while dry docked in a floating dock in Livorno, according to Italy’s National Research Council (Consiglio nazionale delle ricerche), the operator of the vessel.
According to the initial reports, one of the beams supporting the Italian-flagged Urania collapsed, causing the vessel to violently lean on one side and send all of the unsecured material inside the vessel to move to one side, trapping eleven men, and injuring four of them.
Local firefighters opened a hole in the Urania’s hull and pulled out all of the men trapped inside the vessel.
However, one of the workers, a 39-year-old man, was showing no signs of life when the help arrived. One of the three hospitalized men suffered serious injuries in the accident.
World Maritime News Staff