By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A Garyville man working on a barge in the Mississippi River near the Port of South Louisiana died Monday after he fell overboard and into the water, according to St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s officials.

Kenneth Joseph, 44, an employee of St. John Enterprises, reportedly fell into the water just before 2 p.m. Monday while working along docks near the 3100 block of River Road in Garyville, said Capt. Dane Clement, public information officer for the Sheriff’s Office.

Clement said witnesses on the dock told responding deputies they did not actually see Joseph fall from the barge but did hear his cries for help from the water.

Clement said when the witnesses ran to the outside barge, Joseph had slipped under the boat.

Authorities said Joseph was wearing a personal floatation device at the time of the fall.

Clement said Joseph’s fellow crewmembers were able to rescue him from the river and began administering CPR until emergency medical technicians could arrive.

Joseph was transported to River Parishes Hospital in LaPlace, where he died later that evening.

Preliminary autopsy results on Wednesday showed that Joseph had been in the water for about 15 minutes and that he sustained multiple injuries from falling into the river.

The actual cause of death has not yet been determined.