A worker has died after falling into a water tank at a water treatment plant in Brooklyn Wednesday afternoon, officials say. Michael George reports.
A worker has died after falling into a water tank at a water treatment plant in Brooklyn Wednesday afternoon, officials say.
The 31-year-old worker for Welkin Mechanical, a Department of Environmental Protection contractor, was doing upgrades at the Coney Island Wastewater Treatment Plant on Knapp Street in Sheepshead Bay when he plunged into a treated water tank plant, according to the FDNY and the DEP.
The man, identified as Michael Buffamante of Hawthorne, may have been in the water for as long as 25 to 30 minutes, the FDNY said.
When fire officials and EMS responded at about 12:30 p.m., two divers went into the tank and found Buffamante about 35 feet deep in the water. He was brought up and taken to the hospital in critical condition.
He was later pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital.
The DEP says the worker was wearing safety equipment at the time.
