The man killed in an explosion at a Staten Island shipyard was a hard-working Chinese immigrant who died when he became “trapped” in the belly of a boat while painting, his family said Saturday.
Xiaoyuan Li, of Flushing, was finishing his last day of work for May Ship Repair on the dry dock in Mariners Harbor before a planned weekend trip with his wife, son Jerome Li told The Post.
“My mom called me and said that my dad’s coworker called the police and said that my dad is trapped inside of the boat,” Li said from the family’s Queens home.
“And after 45 minutes there was an explosion.”
The Friday afternoon blast left 30 people hurt, including two firefighters, one of whom was in critical condition, officials said. The cause was under investigation.
After the fire started, the 57-year-old’s coworkers picked up his mom, Jinhua, 53, and brought her to the dry dock, but the situation was dire, said Jerome, who rushed to the scene in an Uber.
A supervisor told the family they had to “wait out the report and see what’s going on.”
“My mom was desperate, crying,” said the heartbroken 22-year-old, who just graduated from college.
“I was in shock,” he said. “I thought there might be hope. When I got there they said no one had died yet but that my dad is still not found. I’m sad. I try not to cry.”
His father immigrated from Yanbian, a Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China that borders North Korea, around 10 years ago, his son said, for a better life for their family.
He had been working for the ship repair company for about four years.
The father would start his day at 4 a.m., often not arriving home until 5 p.m. His wife started the days with him, making him a breakfast of tofu and packing him a lunch, their son said.
“He’s working hard and taking care of the family,” the son said. “He works so early and it’s hard work at the shipyard. Every day he’s really tired when he gets back home.”
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And his dad knew the work was dangerous, he said.
“He’s the only guy down there working in the basement,” the son said. “There should be a safeguard.”
The family said no one from May Ship Repair has reached out to them.
“My mom wants to know the reason this happened,” he said.
“It’s just a heartbreaking moment,” said the son, who earned a degree in photography.
“I just graduated two days ago, it’s a new chapter in my life. It was the last day he worked, my parents were just about to have a trip.”
