News sources are reporting that a worker in Oregon was killed on Friday after falling into a blender used for processing meat.
Authorities said the accident at Interstate Meat Distributors in Clackamas claimed the life of 41-year-old Hugo Avalos-Chanon, a contract worker employed by DCS Sanitation Management.
Avalos-Chanon was in the process of cleaning the blender when the incident occurred. Witnesses said a co-worker did push an emergency stop button, but it was too late to save Avalos-Chanon, who died instantly.
Firefighters had to dismantle the machine in order to remove the body.
OSHA has begun an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatality. A spokesperson for the agency said the process could take as long as six months. No violations were cited during OSHA inspections of DCS Sanitation Management’s operations in 2001, 2002 and 2004.
An official with Interstate Meat Distributors said the company is cooperating fully with investigators.
