A plant worker has died after 13 tons of molten metal were tipped over him, police said Monday.

Kazuki Tada, 23, was working Saturday morning beneath a huge bucket containing an alloy that had been heated to around 1,300 degrees Celsius at a Nippon Denko plant in Anan, Tokushima Prefecture.

The bucket, which was suspended in mid-air, overbalanced, pouring the molten metal on Tada, police said.

An investigation into the accident is under way, a local police spokesman said.

© (c) 2014 AFP