PORTLAND – Authorities say a sleeping homeless man was crushed by a front-end loader early Wednesday in Maine’s largest city.

Investigators said it appears that the victim was sleeping under the loader in the city salt shed in Portland when it backed up, crushing the man.

A city spokeswoman said the accident happened at about 2:30 a.m. as the operator was moving debris from a street sweeper detail to trucks for removal.

The victim was identified only as a 56-year-old man. Police are withholding the man’s identity until they can contact relatives.