CAMBRIA, WI - A fifth worker injured in an explosion last month at a corn milling plant died Friday, the company said.
Carlos (Charly) Nunez died at a hospital from injuries he suffered in the May 31 explosion at the plant in Cambria, Didion Milling officials say. The community is about 45 miles northeast of Madison, WI.
Angel Reyes, 46, died June 6 at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison.
Machine operator Pawel Tordoff’s body was pulled from the rubble June 2. Forklift driver Robert Goodenow’s body was found in the debris June 1. Mill operator Duelle Block was found dead dead shortly after the explosion.
The blast and fire occurred as employees were working the overnight shift.
Didion Milling employs more than 200 in facilities in Johnson Creek, Cambria and Markesan.
===============
A fifth victim of last month’s explosion at the Didion Milling Plant in Cambria died early Friday.
Carlos “Charly” Nunez died at the UW Hospital burn unit from burns he suffered in the blast, the company said in a statement.
Angel Reyes, a 46-year-old pack operator at the plant, died at UW Hospital on June 6. The blast also killed Duelle Block, 27, a mill operator; Robert Goodenow, 53, a forklift operator; and Pawel Tordoff, 21, a packing machine operator.
One other employee remains at UW Hospital, said Jeffrey Remsik, a spokesman for Didion. He declined to provide the employee’s condition.
The May 31 explosion sent 11 of the 16 plant employees working at the time to hospitals.
The explosion destroyed much of the facility, where the process of demolition and debris removal is continuing, Remsick said.
Most employees have returned to work, he said.
The results of an investigation by the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Chemical Safety Board into the cause of the explosion are pending, Remsick said.
The company was fined by OSHA in 2011 after federal authorities determined that Didion had not installed equipment to protect workers from dust that can cause explosions.
Didion employs more than 200 people in facilities in Johnson Creek, Cambria and Markesan.