Victor Gerena killed when he becomes entangled in machinery at seafood plant.

Federal officials are investigating the death of a man caught in machinery at a New Bedford seafood processing plant in New Bedford.

Victor Gerena, 35, was cleaning out a shellfish shucking machine at about 1:30 a.m., police said.

The victim ‘‘became entangled in a rotary turbine engine’’ while flushing out the machine, stated a Detective Captain. The fire department had to partially dismantle the machine to free the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

The death is under investigation and an autopsy is scheduled.

The Braintree office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened an investigation after receiving a report on its hot line of the accident.

Inspectors visited the plant Thursday morning to interview witnesses and gather information. The investigation is expected to take several weeks, said a OSHA spokesman.

“We’ll be gathering whatever information we can to find out what happened, what safety standards apply in connection with this machinery,” OSHA said. “From that, we’ll determine whether or not the employer was in compliance with whatever the safety standards are.”