Former "Survivor" contestant Caleb Bankston lost his life in an accident while working on a coal train, according to a railway official's statement on CNN.

The 27-year-old had worked as a conductor and a locomotive engineer at the Alabama Warrior Railway for seven months before the accident Tuesday. Bankston appeared in the 27th season of reality television show "Survivor: Blood vs. Water" with his fiancee, Colon Cumbie.

"Survivor" executive producer Jeff Probst expressed his shock and sadness over the loss of the former contestant. Probst said Bankston's gentle and humble nature made him among the most likable contestants in show history.

Jefferson County Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said Bankston was thrown from a train after a partial derailment, sending his body between two train cars, which crushed his body. The cause of the derailment is unknown. The person working with him was at the scene and was not injured. Reports state that he was checking on something in a small space between the cars before the train went off its track.

Kansas-based Watco Companies, which owns the railway, is offering counseling to Bankston's co-workers, and the Federal Railroad Administration is investigating. Spokesman Warren Flatau said the FRA will identify the accident's cause and take necessary enforcement actions. The railway is only a few miles long and is used to haul coal and other industrial materials.

Many people are devastated over the loss of their friend, especially his fiancee and his friends from the show. He and Cumbie had planned to get married in October and had started planning the wedding, even inviting co-contestants from "Survivor." Friends say he was one of the sweetest and most sincere people they knew.