In the second oilfield fatality in North Dakota this week, a worker died Monday after being struck by the boom of a crane.

How it happened

News sources are reporting that the 36-year-old man was part of a five-member crew using the crane to remove an underground pipe, and that the man was struck in the upper torso by the crane’s boom as it was being lowered. The incident is being investigated by OSHA.

The worker was employed by Advance Energy, Michigan-based drilling contractor.

Third degree burns

In a separate incident, an explosion and fire at an oil well near Watford City on Saturday killed one worker and seriously injured two others. The injured men were airlifted to a Minnesota burn center with third degree burns over 70 percent of their bodies.

A third worker was treated for minor burns at a local hospital and released.

According to OSHA, the latest death brings to 50 the number of oilfield-related fatalities in North Dakota since late 2010.