SPRINGFIELD - The Vermont Department of Corrections says a 40-year-old inmate at the Southern Vermont Correctional Facility in Springfield choked to death.

Officials say inmate Joseph Beh (Bay) was working in the prison kitchen Tuesday evening along with a number of other inmates when he began to choke.

Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito says other inmates and then staff went to Beh's assistance and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Beh was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Pallito says it's unclear what caused Beh to choke.

Pallito says the incident is being investigated by the Agency of Human Services' Investigations Unit and the Vermont State Police.