A 56-year-old man has been crushed to death in the Port of Newcastle, in New South Wales, after a massive load of aluminium shifted and fell as he loaded it onto a ship.

Police say Greg Fitzgibbon was working on board a Chinese-registered bulk carrier docked at Carrington, in Newcastle Harbour Sunday at about 9:30pm.

A crane was loading cargo of aluminium onto the ship when a 20-tonne pallet unexpectedly shifted and the Newcastle Stevedores wharfie was crushed.

Chaplain to the Port of Newcastle, Reverend Gary Dodd, says “It’s absolutely devastating and it just highlights the incredibly dangerous industry that these people work in.”

More at 7News Sydney