Tampa firefighters used specialized techniques and equipment to rescue a 31-year-old man who fell 20 feet into the hull of a ship he was working on at the Port of Tampa on Thursday morning.
The man, whose name had not been released by late Thursday, works for Gulf Marine Repair, a ship refurbishing corporation that rents space from the port, port authority officials said. He was working on a ship at a dry dock at 1800 Grant St. just after 7 a.m. when he fell, Tampa Fire Rescue Capt. Lonnie Benniefield said.
He was conscious when rescuers arrived and complained of pain on his right side, Benniefield said. Firefighters on a heavy rescue team used specialized stabilizing and hoisting equipment to lift him out of the ship's hold.
"I don't think it was hard to get to him," he said, "but getting him out was the problem. It was a narrow opening. We had to secure him in a way so that when we moved him we didn't injure him."
Once he was out of the hold, a crane was used to lift the man off the ship and lower him to the ground, where an ambulance was waiting.
Nearly three hours after he fell into the hold, the worker was taken to Tampa General Hospital for treatment, Benniefield said.
"It didn't look like he had life-threatening injuries," he said.
Officials with Gulf Marine Repair could not be reached for comment.
The cause of the fall is under investigation.
Copyright 2012 - Tampa Tribune, Fla.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
