ILWU Local 10 Longshoremen Dies at SSA As A Result Of No Ladder To Pull Him Out Of Water
ILWU Local 10 Longshoremen Dies at SSA As A Result Of No Ladder To Pull Him Out Of Water
http://www.ktvu.com/news/17281603/detail.html
OAKLAND -- The U.S. Coast Guard said a 77-year-old man died Saturday after falling into the water from a cargo ship in the Port of Oakland.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Ijan Petrie says Oakland resident Delmont Blakeney was helping offload shipping containers from the ship NYK Starlight late Saturday night when he fell.
Petrie says a locking device came loose and caused a container to spin out of control. The container hit Blakeney and briefly pinned him against the rail of the ship before he tumbled into the water.
A co-worker told KTVU that Blakeley was able to swim to the opposite side of the dock but was not able to climb out of the water because there were no ladders.Pier workers pulled him out and performed CPR until paramedics took Blakeley to Highland Hospital where he was pronounced dead, likely from drowning.
Officials from the dock workers' union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), blame inadequate safety equipment for Blakeley's death.
“We need to have ladders that can reach folks who go in the water,” said ILWU Union Spokesman Craig Merrilees.”They went all over trying to piece together something to save him, to pull him out of the water. By the time they were able to get to him, he had been in that frigid water for 30 minutes.
Port operations were quiet Sunday as union members observed a day of mourning.
This is the third fatal accident at the Port of Oakland and the second involving a longshoreman in less than a year. Beginning Monday, the Port of Oakland, the Pacific Maritime Association, and the Occupational Safety and Health Adm