The man was carrying out maintenance work on reactor, which is temporarily out of service, when a jack broke loose and crashed into the man’s chest.
The 61-year-old was rushed to hospital in Oskarshamn but was declared dead on arrival.
The accident occurred shortly before 5am in the reactor’s turbine hall. The police have conducted a technical investigation of the scene and a report has been submitted to the Swedish Work Environment Authority.
The owner of the plant, OKG, immediately suspended all work on the reactor and has appointed a crisis group to help staff cope with the shock.
“We are all very deeply distressed,” OKG’s head of information, Anders Österberg said.
The man was resident in Östergötland and worked for a sub-contractor.
The 03 nuclear reactor was taken out of service on March 1st for its annual maintenance check together with an upgrade to increase its power output.
According to current plans the plant will be put back into service on May 30th.