Longshoreman’s death rattles Philly port

An investigation continues into the rare death Friday afternoon of a longshoreman at the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia, where workers today are devastated by the loss of a colleague.

"He's one of our superstars," Tom Holt Jr., who runs the marine terminal, said of Charles DiRago, 54, of Wenonah. "It's a big loss for us."

Holt would not discuss the circumstances that led to DiRago's death shortly before 1:30 p.m., saying only it was "a tragedy" being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. A container ship had just come in and unloading had just begun, Holt said.

"It looks like it was an accident," he said of the mishap that shut down work at the terminal until this morning.

DiRago's longtime friend and waterfront colleague, Albert Howlett, said DiRago was crushed when a "yard horse," the tractor part of a tractor-trailer, backed into him.

"Chuckie was well-liked, so there's a lot of emotion, people are very emotional now," Howlett, business agent of Local 1291 of the International Longshoremen's Association, said today, just after leaving the marine terminal. DiRago, a foreman at Packer, was a member of Local 1291. The son of a longshoreman, DiRago had worked on the waterfront 36 years and for Packer about 30 years, according to Howlett and Holt. He was also a father of four.

Holt could not remember when there last was a fatality at Packer, saying it was "years and years and years ago. We pride ourselves on our safety."

A memorial service attended by 120 employees was held this morning at the marine terminal before work there resumed, Holt said, adding that DiRago is "already sorely missed."

"He was just great with people, had a lot of charisma," Holt said. "He was a team player."

In fact, DiRago was helping out in an area that was not his responsibility when he was killed, Howlett said.

"That was the kind of guy he was," he said.

Said Robert Blackburn, senior deputy executive director of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, a state agency that owns the Packer marine terminal: "The ILA has truly lost one of its very best."