A man died Monday as he was working under water at the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, N.Y., officials said.
The unidentified diver was doing working on a wall that separates the Hudson River from a discharge canal when he stopped responding to communication checks, according to Entergy Nuclear, which owns the Indian Point Energy Center.
A canal channels water back to the river after being used to cool a reactor or make steam.
“The gentleman was doing some maintenance work under water, and when a co-worker up above asked him a question and he did not respond, he was pulled up immediately,” said Jerry Nappi, a spokesman for the Indian Point plant.
An emergency medical technician who is stationed on site tended to the diver, who was later pronounced dead at Hudson Valley Hospital center in Cortlandt Manor
The man worked for one of Entergy’s contractors, Dryden Diving of Woolwich Township, N.J. Nappi said company officials believe the man died of natural causes, but the cause of death is still under investigation.
Eight years ago, another maintenance worker died at the plant as he was trimming some bushes and was electrocuted by overhead wires, said Nappi.
