Post by Barnaby Cuthbert on Mar 2, 2015 9:04:38 GMT -8
The Seattle PD's harbor patrol unit, as well as the state Department of Labor and Industries is investigating the death of a dock worker killed Saturday when an shipping container was apparently opened from the inside by an illegally transported wild animal on Harbor Island in Seattle.
Portions of the port that closed after the event Sunday were reopened this morning, she said.
Labor and Industries investigators hadn’t determined whether workplace-safety violations contributed to the accident, said Linda Dondris, an L&I spokeswoman. A single shipping container was removed while empty and stored separately, investigators believe, then the animal placed in the container and left there for perhaps as long as a week.
“We’re not certain what kind of animal was involved, but there were claw-marks on the doors consistent with a large animal, perhaps a bear or large cat, powerful enough to wedge the doors open."
Marissa Loris, a 36-year-old woman, was killed Sunday at about 2:30 a.m. when she noticed a knocking coming from the empty container and recognized its numbering from a ship she was loading, according to SPD. The woman was pulled into the container and savaged by the animal, which then fled off into the harbor, a longshoreman said. The woman died of her wounds at the scene, having hemorrhaged a lethal amount of blood from several arterial wounds.
Investigators are looking for the animal, as well as any information related to the movement of the container to store it.
Portions of the port that closed after the event Sunday were reopened this morning, she said.
Labor and Industries investigators hadn’t determined whether workplace-safety violations contributed to the accident, said Linda Dondris, an L&I spokeswoman. A single shipping container was removed while empty and stored separately, investigators believe, then the animal placed in the container and left there for perhaps as long as a week.
“We’re not certain what kind of animal was involved, but there were claw-marks on the doors consistent with a large animal, perhaps a bear or large cat, powerful enough to wedge the doors open."
Marissa Loris, a 36-year-old woman, was killed Sunday at about 2:30 a.m. when she noticed a knocking coming from the empty container and recognized its numbering from a ship she was loading, according to SPD. The woman was pulled into the container and savaged by the animal, which then fled off into the harbor, a longshoreman said. The woman died of her wounds at the scene, having hemorrhaged a lethal amount of blood from several arterial wounds.
Investigators are looking for the animal, as well as any information related to the movement of the container to store it.