Newport News shipyard worker who fell overboard presumed dead

Associated Press
Published: February 13, 2008

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) - Crews were searching Wednesday for the body of a Northrop Grumman shipyard worker who fell overboard from an aircraft carrier into the James River.
The 19-year-old sheet metal worker from Newport News fell from the USS Carl Vinson, which is being overhauled at the shipyard, at about 8:10 a.m, the shipyard said in a statement. The worker’s name was not released.
Two sailors aboard the George H. W. Bush, a carrier under construction next to the Carl Vinson, immediately jumped into the river but were unable to find the worker, the shipyard said.
Emergency response personnel from the shipyard, the city of Newport News and the U.S. Coast Guard spent the day searching for the employee and planned to continue as long as possible into the night.
A shipyard spokeswoman confirmed in the late afternoon that the worker was presumed dead.
“It’s a recovery effort,” shipyard spokeswoman Jennifer Dellapenta said.
The shipyard said in a statement that it did not know the cause of the fall, which it called it accidental.
The shipyard is the nation’s only builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
The Carl Vinson is one of the Navy’s Nimitz-class carriers, the largest warships in the world. Carriers tower 20 stories above the waterline, according to the shipyard’s Web site.
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On the Net:
Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard: http://www.nn.northropgrumman.com
USS Carl Vinson: http://www.cvn70.navy.mil/