A 59-year-old city worker was reported dead and two others were injured Saturday when a boat carrying raw sewage exploded on the Hudson River near West 138th Street. NYPD received a 911 call about a person in the water at about 10:30 a.m., and responded to the scene along with the FDNY, according to police. Officials arrived at the scene to find a large explosion had ripped through the ship's hull. The blast forced a New York City Department of Environmental Protection worker into the water, where he became trapped between the vessel and the pier and died. Two other DEP employees who were working on the vessel were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment. One of the injured refused treatment. Their conditions were not immediately known. The boat, which was docked at the time of the explosion, was carrying raw sewage from the city to a nearby treatment facility, law enforcement sources said. Investigative sources said a welding operation unfolding near the boat could be to blame for Saturday's blast. They further noted that raw sewage is a significant source of highly flammable methane gas. FDNY officials said it was too early in their investigation to determine if the explosion was accidental. The NYPD's Harbor Unit, Emergency Service Unit, and Aviation Units responded to the scene, along with officials from the DEP, the Office of Emergency Management, and the FDNY. Medical examiners were also summoned to the scene Saturday. In a statement, the DEP said the worker who died had 33 years on the job. "The entire DEP family is grieving today," said DEP Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala in a statement. "Our employee who lost his life … was a valued and experienced member of the Bureau of Wastewater Treatment, and his decades of service reflect his commitment to DEP's mission."
