Two tugboat crew members were killed in what officials said was a "confined space incident" while moored in Alaska.
Ben Fowler and Sidney Mohorovich died on March 15 aboard a freight barge Waynehoe about 25 miles from Ketchikan, on the southeastern coast of Alaska, according to theU.S. Coast Guard, which is investigating the incident. The two were crew members on the tug vessel Chukchi Sea and were on board Waynehoe when other tug crew members lost contact with them. Two other crew members with them on the barge survived and were in stable condition.
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska command center in Juneau about 200 miles away received a mayday call at about 9:14 a.m. on March 15, the Coast Guard said. They launched a response boat and crew with members of a volunteer fire department on board.
By the time the responders reached the barge, the other tug crew members had recovered a body and helped the two surviving crew members get out of the confined space. The response team then towed the barge to a pier in Ketchikan and recovered the second body on March 17, the Coast Guard said.
A cause of death for the two deceased crew members was not released.
"Our deepest condolences are with the families and colleagues of the crew members affected by this tragic incident," Capt. Stanley Fields, commander of the Coast Guard's Sector Southeast Alaska, said. " This is a heartbreaking reminder that confined spaces on vessels can contain extremely dangerous, invisible hazards. The Coast Guard is committed to a thorough investigation to understand what happened and prevent a tragedy like this from occurring again."
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Mohorovich's parents told theAssociated Pressthat they were informed by the Coast Guard there was methane gas present in the confined space. USA TODAY has reached out to the Coast Guard for comment.
Mohorovich was a large equipment mechanic who lived in Deming, Washington, with his fiancee and was planning to be married in June, his parents Eva and Todd Mohorovich told AP. He was on his first job in Alaska, they said.
"He was loved by so many," Eva Mohorovich told AP. "Just an exceptional human being, smarty, witty, funny, loving."
A confined space in maritime terminology refers to a space that isn't designed for people to be in for any length of time, but that are still large enough to enter when they may need to enter to perform work. They have limited entry and exit access, and can include a "double bottom tank, cofferdam, or other space, which, by its design and confined nature can readily create or aggravate a hazardous exposure," according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Such spaces can become depleted of oxygen or trap dangerous gases because of poor ventilation, said the National Fire Protection Association.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:2 tugboat crew members killed on barge in Alaska, Coast Guard says
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