SAUGATUCK, MICHIGAN — A young man working in an industrial plant entered a tank of molasses to clean it from the inside, and went he tried to climb back out, disaster struck.

On July 26, while working at an industrial plant in Saugatuck Michigan, 23-year-old Robert Herweyer and a co-worker were cleaning a 12-foot container when Herweyer noticed the molasses levels had dipped too low to pump out of the tank. After entering the tank and lowering himself in using a forklift and straps, he managed to fix the problem. But when he began to climb out, all of a sudden he stopped moving. His co-worker called out to him, and even tried lifting him out, but the attempts were unsuccessful.

Herweyer’s co-worker then ran for help and used an electric saw to cut open the tank and free him. But after more than four minutes under the liquid, syrup had filled up in his lungs, and Herweyer had drowned. An investigation into the accident is being conducted by the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and the findings could take weeks to be released. Fines and penalties may be pending,

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to raise funds to help provide for Robert Herweyer’s family. In November of 2015, Herweyer married his wife Joy. Three weeks prior to his death, the couple had just moved into their new home in anticipation of the birth of their first child.