Car assembly line robot kills worker in Germany

• State prosecutor's office confirms the death
• Local media report the robot gripped the worker, who was installing it

(CNN)An automotive assembly line robot killed a worker at a car factory in Germany this week, a prosecutor's office said.

The man, 21, was installing the robot at a Volkswagen assembly line on Tuesday in Baunatal, which lies next to the city of Kassel, local newspaper the Hessische Niedersaechsische Allgemeine reported, citing a VW spokesman. The robot gripped and pressed him up against a metal plate, crushing his chest.

Despite efforts to revive him, the worker, an employee of a third-party vendor, died at a hospital, the paper reported.

As a matter of procedure necessary to have the body released in cases of non-natural death, the state prosecutor's office said it is investigating to rule out any criminal culpability.

Volkswagen did not respond to calls for comment Thursday.