Atop city Environmental Protection engineerkilled in aweekend sewage-boat explosionmay have accidentally blown himself up by welding near methane, sources told The Post on Monday. An investigation into the death of Raymond Feige, 59, preliminarily found he had been welding on the sludge vessel before the blast Saturday, sources said. Methane from sewage may have got trapped in a tightly enclosed space on the ship — and ignited when it came in contact with the welding torch's flame, according to the sources. The ensuing blast hurled Feige into the Hudson River, trapping him between the sludge boat and a pier outside the North River Wastewater Resource Recovery Facility near 135th Street in Upper Manhattan, authorities have said. Two other DEP employees were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment after the blast. The potential that the blast had been caused by a welding accident was first raised by the US Coast Guard, which tweeted the incident was "linked to hot work aboard a dock boat." Hot work involves processes that can produce a flame or spark, such as welding.
