UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

At 12:45 p.m. on April 1, 2022, the local marina's pier division had a crew of t hree employees working to install a pier, boat/jet ski lifts, and a swim raft at a residential property on Lauderdale Lakes. They were using a Kann crane barge powered by a 115 horsepower Mercury outboard motor and an Amco Verba crane Model V806NF4S on the deck of the barge. They were also using a separate flat deck b arge to work from, as needed. Multiple sections of the pier had been installed, along with a boat lift, and a couple of jet ski lifts. The final step was to in stall a swim pier, which had been lifted onto the crane barge to prepare it for installation. Employee #1 and Employee #2 were on the crane barge, when Employe e #1 turned the key to start the outboard motor of the crane barge and there was an explosion in the hull of the crane barge. The explosion resulted in signifi cant damage to the barge, causing the entire floor to separate from the hull, an d also launched tools, materials, and portions of the barge in the air that land ed on the water and on shore. Employee #1 landed in the hull of the barge and w as killed. Employee #2 landed in the water and suffered a significant fracture to one leg, along with other minor injuries and was hospitalized. A coworker wa s on the adjacent flat deck barge and was thrown into the water.