Volkswagen assembly robot kills worker

KASSEL, Germany, July 2 (UPI) -- Reports of a Volkswagen assembly line robot that caused the death of a factory worker in Germany surfaced Wednesday.

A 21-year-old employee from third-party vendor Saxony was setting up an assembly robot in Volkswagen's Baunatal factory next to Kassel, Germany when the machine gripped him and pressed him up against a metal plate.

This caused severe injuries that led to his hospital death at Klinikum Kassel on Monday.

Volkswagen spokesman Dr. Götz Wied said that human negligence might be at fault for the accident and that an investigation has been launched by authorities. The state prosecutor says it must rule out any criminal possibility.

The accident took place in Hall 6, a part of Volkswagen's factory where electric motors are produced.