MINNEAPOLIS - A man is dead after a heavy equipment mishap near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Monday morning.
Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) spokesman Pat Hogan says the man was using a backhoe to dredge a stormwater collection pond when the machine tipped over and crushed him.
The victim was declared dead on the scene. He is an employee of SM Hentges out of Jordan.
Hogan says the pond the man was attempting to dredge catches chemicals and water that run off from the airport grounds before they enter nearby rivers and lakes. He adds that the ground is very soft and muddy in the area being dredged, which may have led the backhoe to tip.
Because of the soft terrain, Hogan says the victim was operating the backhoe on heavy wooden planks laid to keep the machine from sinking or tipping.
Heavy equipment is being used to right the backhoe and free the victim's body, but Hogan suggests the operation may take several hours.
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