A merchant seaman has died following an accident on board his ship at the Port of Ipswich.
The incident took place at around 10am yesterday morning (October 2) on the Dutch container ship Damsterdijk, which was docking at the port.
Associated British Ports (ABP), which runs Port of Ipswich, confirmed the death of a crew member and said an investigation has been launched by the Onderzoeksraad, the Dutch Safety Board.
A helicopter from the East of England Air Ambulance from Cambridge attended the scene to assist paramedics in taking care of the man, aged in his 50s, who is understood to have suffered serious injuries to his legs.
Members of the air ambulance team travelled with the man by land ambulance to Ipswich Hospital where he later died.
The incident happened as the ship was mooring at the port.
The Damsterdijk, which has a gross tonnage of 2,984 tonnes and is just under 90m long, was built in 2007 and its home port is Groeningen.
As the container ship is registered in Holland the Dutch authorities will lead the investigation into the sailor's death.
A spokesperson for ABP said: "We are saddened to learn of the loss of the crew member, following an incident on board a vessel that was visiting the Port of Ipswich.
"Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the individual at this terrible time. We are working to support the authorities as they investigate the incident."
A spokeswoman from the East of England Ambulance service confirmed their attendance.
She said: "We were called to an incident at the Ipswich Docks at 10.14am yesterday (October 2) to reports of a man who had suffered accidental injuries.
"He was later transported to Ipswich Hospital by land."
Port of Ipswich is situated at the head of the River Orwell, 12 miles from the open sea and handles 2 million tonnes of cargo per year.
It is the UK's leading grain export port and handles a range of other products such as fertiliser, cement and aggregates.
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