An elevator repair worker was killed after he was dragged up inside an elevator shaft at a high-rise building in New Jersey, authorities said.

The 44-year-old man from New Windsor was performing monthly maintenance in one of the elevators at the 52-story Galaxy Towers on Boulevard E in Guttenberg when he somehow got tangled between the elevator door and the top portion of the elevator car, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said.

He was dragged upwards and killed, authorities said.

The worker was found wedged between an elevator cab and the wall of the shaft, according to the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities said the maintenance job was normally meant to be done by two workers, but the man who died began when his partner showed up late.

His body was removed by emergency responders, authorities said.

Authorities said earlier the man had plunged down an elevator shaft, but the prosecutor's office said later in the evening that he was actually dragged upward.

The man worked for Slade Industries.

"Slade Industries, Inc. is very saddened to hear of the accident at Galaxy Towers in Guttenberg, NJ this morning. We extend our deepest sympathy to the family and friends of our employee involved in the accident," the company said in a statement.

OSHA says it is investigating the fatality.