Thursday, July 20, 2017

A fifth worker who was injured in an accident at Tampa Electric’s Big Bend Power Plant has died. Armando Perez, 56, died of injuries he sustained from the accident

Armando Perez, 56, died of injuries he sustained from the accident.






BRACE Industrial Group said its employee, Armando Perez, 56, died of injuries he sustained from the accident. Molten slag, a substance that can reach temperatures upwards of 1,000 degrees, gushed from a containment tank, authorities said, burning those in the vicinity.


"Our heartfelt prayers and sympathy are extended to his family and friends as we keep our primary focus on supporting our employees and their families during this difficult time," the company said in a statement Thursday.

Only one person who was injured by the slag remains alive: Gary Marine Jr., 32.

Senior plant operator Michael McCort, 60, and contract worker Christopher Irvin, 40, died at the scene. Another BRACE employee, Antonio "Marro" Navarrete, 21, died a week after the accident. Frank Lee Jones, 55, Marine Jr.'s stepfather, died three days after Navarette.

GoFundMe pages have been set up for Navarette and Perez, BRACE confirmed.





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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A fifth worker who was injured in an accident at Tampa Electric’s Big Bend Power Plant has died.

BRACE Industrial Group said Thursday that Armando Perez has passed away. BRACE Industrial released the following statement:

“We are very saddened to report that BRACE employee Armando Perez has died as a result of injuries suffered during the incident at Tampa Electric’s Big Bend power plant on June 29. Our heartfelt prayers and sympathy are extended to his family and friends as we keep our primary focus on supporting our employees and their families during this difficult time.”

Gofundme pages have been created for Armando Perez as well as Antonio Navarrete, who was another Brace employee who was fatally injured in the incident.

Other workers who died from injuries suffered in the accident include Frank Lee Jones, Christopher Irvin, and Michael McCort.

The accident happened Thursday, June 29. The workers were burned during an accident that happened when they were performing routine maintenance on a slag tank, which houses coal waste after it’s burned. Slag is a glass-like product that’s formed when coal mixes with water.