The scene of the accident

A forklift is being blamed for the death of a man who was working on a pipeline project in northern Minnesota.

According to Associated Press, the Aitkin County Sheriff's Office has preliminarily ruled that the death of Jorge Villafuerte III at the Enbridge Energy Line 3 construction site was an accident. It happened while Villafuerte was checking a list of materials while standing behind a forklift.

As the forklift started reversing, a co-worker jumped out of the way, but Villafuerte was struck "almost immediately" by the rear passenger tyre, according to the sheriff's office.

The 45-year-old Villafuerte was dead by the time emergency responders arrived on the scene.

The fatality came less than a month after construction began in Minnesota.