A tower technician died while working on a 347-foot (105 meters) tower in Atlantic City, New Jersey, last Thursday (December 4).

The worker was the second tower technician fatality to happen last week, and the sixth recorded death this year.

Wireless Estimator reports that the worker fell when a gin pole failed.

The publication notes that the crew was working on the tower to remove an abandoned FM pylon from the tower located off Murray Avenue, near the city’s water-treatment plant.

A gin pole operates as a temporary crane used to lift heavy objects. They are effectively a pivoting mast supported by one or more guy-wires that uses a pulley or block and tackle mounted on its upper end to lift loads.

A three-person team was working on the tower and lowering the mast when the gin pole failed, individuals familiar with the matter told Wireless Estimator, not naming the technician or his employer.

The pole bent under load, they said, but did not detach from the tower; however, the pylon’s load-line snapped when the gin pole became compromised.

Following the failure, two technicians noticed their colleague was talking but faint, with no apparent signs of injury, and began assisting him down the tower. One of the workers noticed the man stopped breathing at around 200ft, when his partner called 911.

Despite the efforts from the workers to perform CPR for around an hour until first responders arrived, the man was pronounced dead shortly after.

The incident is being investigated by OSHA.

The man's death was the second tower-related fatality last week in the country after another technician fell 100 feet from a communications tower in Douglas County, Wisconsin.

DCD sends its sympathies to the family and friends of the technician