OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221612708
JONES FISH HATCHERIES & DISTRIBUTORS, LLC
NORTH JACKSON, OH·
Event description
Employee falls out of John Boat and drowns
Investigation abstract
At 2:00 p.m. on October 31, 2023, Employee #1 launched a 10-foot John Boat into fountain/aerator into the boat to gain access to the power cord cap connectors still attached. Employee #1 was having a hard time separating the cord cap connectors when the event occurred. Employee #1 fell out of the 10-foot John Boat due to leaning over the edge of the boat, combined with the weight of the water fountain/aerator. Employee #1 was not wearing a floatation device. When Employee #1 entered the water, Employee #1 attempted to swim back towards the 10-foot John Boat. The 10-foot John Boat was still under power and moving in circles around Employee #1, making it difficult to get to. The depth of the pond is estimated at 10 feet. The coworker was assessing the situation from the shore and made the decision to strip down and attempt a rescue. Employee #1 was an 11-acre pond. Employee #1 was tasked with winterizing and removing the water at least 30 yards away from the coworker. The coworker was able to swim out to Employee #1 to attempt a rescue. The coworker began to swim with Employee #1 towards the shore. Employee #1 began to go limp, and the coworker was not able to get to shore with Employee #1 due to fatigue. The coworker released Employee #1 and swam to the 10-foot John Boat. The coworker got the 10-foot John Boat to the shore and called 911. Employee #1 was recovered at a depth of 9.7 feet by the Jackson Township Fire Department. Employee #1 drowned. fountain/aerator towards the middle of the pond. A coworker deenergized the fountain/aerator then stood on the shore to observe Employee #1. Employee #1 began to unhook the fountain/aerator, separating it from the ropes that were anchored to cinder blocks. Employee #1 then attached a buoy to the rope in order to make the rope easy to locate after winter. (The fountain/aerator floats freely when not anchored; the only other restraint is the electrical cord running into the pond to the shore.) Employee #1 then pulled the
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 22 M
- Event type
- 14
- Occupation code
- 223
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.