The Orange County Sheriff’s Office has identified 61-year-old John A. Korody as the worker who died after falling into a vat filled with oil near Walt Disney World on Wednesday.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Korody and a 49-year-old coworker were emptying oil byproduct from a semi truck into a vat at an energy facility off South Service Lane when Korody slipped.
Korody fell into the vat. The other man tried to pull him to safety, but Korody was overwhelmed by fumes from the liquid and slipped further into the container, sheriff’s investigators said.
The Reedy Creek Fire Department retrieved Korody’s body.
Korody was an employee of Harvest Power, a company which converts food waste into renewable energy. In a statement, the company said it was in “shock and grief” after Korody’s death.
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Worker dies after he was overwhelmed with nasty fumes and falling into vat of oil near Walt Disney World property
August 15, 2018
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —
A 61-year-old man died early Wednesday after an industrial accident near Walt Disney World, deputies said.
Officials with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said the man slipped and fell into the vat while emptying oil and grease from a tractor-trailer.
The accident was reported shortly after midnight at an energy facility in the 2000 block of South Service Lane, Bay Lake.
Deputies said witnesses tried to pull the man out of the oil but couldn't help him. He became overwhelmed by fumes and slipped further into the vat.
A spokeswoman for Harvest Power said the man was an employee of the energy company. The vat was filled with cooking oil that the company recycles into energy.
The Reedy Creek Fire Department recovered the man's body. His name wasn't immediately released.
Harvest Power is a Massachusetts based company that opened a facility in the
Reedy Creek Improvement District in 2014.
The facility anaerobically digests the organic waste from theme parks, restaurants and hospitality industries catering to the 50+ million area visitors visit each year.
Disney restaurants and hotels were Harvest's first customer but a spokesperson says the company increasingly recycles food waste for hotels and restaurants from across Central Florida.
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BAY LAKE, Fla. -
A 61-year-old man was killed early Wednesday after falling into a vat of oil at an energy facility near Disney property, Orange County sheriffs' deputies said.
The fatal industrial accident was reported at 12:17 a.m. at 2010 South Service Lane in Bay Lake.
According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, the man and a coworker were emptying oil and grease byproduct from a tractor-trailer into a vat.
The 61-year-old was standing on a grate when he slipped and fell into the vat, deputies said. His coworker tried to pull him out but was unable, officials said.
The Sheriff's Office said fumes from the byproduct overwhelmed the man, who slipped further into the vat. The coworker could not help him because of the fumes, deputies said.
The Reedy Creek Fire Department pulled the man's body from the vat.
The victim's name has not been released.
Disney said the victim worked for Harvest Power, a Massachusets-based company that specializes in converting food waste and yard waste into biofuel, compost, mulch and fertilizer. A Harvest Power representative said the company's Orlando location recycles organic waste for the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
"This was a tragic accident. We’re all deeply saddened by the loss of this coworker. We are in shock and grief, and figuring out what happened," said Meredith Sorensen, Harvest Power spokeswoman.