Coroner: Columbus worker died from heat

COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) - A coroner says a southern Indiana man who collapsed while working at a foundry died of a heart attack complicated by extreme heat.

Authorities say 50-year-old Charles Hulse of North Vernon collapsed while at his work station at CE Systems Inc. in Columbus.

Bartholomew County Chief Deputy Coroner Larry Fisher says Hulse was on medication for hypertension and high cholesterol. He had started feeling overwhelmed by the heat on Thursday but had taken a break in a cool room before returning to work.

The Republic reports the death was ruled from natural causes. Temperatures reached the mid-90s that day, with a heat index of about 115 degrees.

The Indiana Department of Labor is investigating the circumstances of the death at the foundry that makes iron castings for heavy equipment manufacturers.