CAMILLA, Ga. (KNWA/KFTA) — An explosion at a Tyson Foods plant in southwest Georgia late Thursday night left one person dead and several others injured.
The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, which represents 1,600 workers at the plant, said Friday that a boiler had exploded. Tyson said it was working with local authorities to determine the cause of the fire. Officials said a fire burned for about three hours.
A wall fell on the cab of an 18-wheel truck parked outside the plant, Mitchell County Coroner Robby Willis told The Associated Press, killing the wife of a truck driver who was asleep inside. He identified the victim as Bajarma Batozhapov, 61, of Las Vegas.
Heavy machinery was needed to recover the victim’s body after a wall came down on top of her, the coroner told WALB.
The woman's husband wasn't in the truck and wasn't injured, he said. Willis declined to state a cause of death for the woman, and said an autopsy would be performed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation on Monday.
Bryce Rawson, a spokesperson for the Georgia State Fire Marshal's Office, confirmed the death and injuries but said he couldn't share anything further Friday afternoon since the investigation was ongoing.
“[It] is too early to tell what happened last night, but there must be a thorough investigation into this incident, and workers must be able to work safely in the facility,” union President Stuart Appelbaum and Edgar Fields, president of the union’s Southeast Council, said in the joint statement.
The union said multiple members were severely burned by the explosion.
Camilla Fire Chief Jamie Sullivan said as of 2:50 a.m. that the flames were out but crews were still on the scene to ensure the fire did not reignite.
The plant in Camilla, which has a population of about 5,000 people, is the largest employer in Mitchell County. Tyson bought it in 2018 as part of its $2.16 billion purchase of Keystone Foods. The union said the plant primarily produces chicken nuggets and chicken fillets for restaurants.
"Agriculture is the backbone of our economy down here and Tyson is a major part of that," Camilla Mayor Kelvin Owens said in a statement to the Associated Press.
A Tyson spokesperson said:
"We are working closely with local authorities to determine the cause of a late-night fire at our Camilla, Georgia facility that resulted in the death of one person and several injuries. We extend our deepest condolences to their family and friends during this difficult time. Right now we are still gathering the facts, but ensuring the safety of our team members is our top priority, and we are conducting a full investigation into the cause of the fire.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
