MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A contract worker for the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is dead, after a backhoe tipped and fell on top of him, trapping him underneath.

Pat Hogan, a spokesman with the Metropolitan Airport Commission, said the worker was dredging a retention pond on some land at Fort Snelling State Park around 10 a.m. when the accident occurred.

“The back hoe tipped on to the individual and the individual is deceased,” he said.

Hogan said the equipment is extremely heavy, and will likely take crews another hour or so before the worker can be extricated from underneath.

The man’s identity is being withheld until family can be notified.

Hogan said this was a project through a company called SM Hentges from Jordan, Minn. He said the ponds are used to filter runoff from the airport that can then be removed.

“The reason we have ponds like this is to help protect the Minnesota River,” he said. “Pollutants go into pond to be removed before it reaches the river.”

Hogan said the area is very muddy and typically wooden plans are used to stabilize the equipment.

This was the worker’s first day on this project.

The Metropolitan Airport Commission will continue to investigate the situation.