Raising serious questions about workplace safety and illegal employment, a worker using a false identity was found dead in an industrial oven at a cereal plant.
Nicolas Lopez Gomez, 38, who had been working under the alias Edward Avila, died in the tragic incident at Gilster Mary Lee Cereal Plant in Perryville, Missouri, where emergency services discovered his body after responding to an urgent call.
The incident occurred in the afternoon when Gomez was reportedly scheduled to power wash the exterior of an industrial oven.
Perryville Police Department, Emergency Medical Services, and Perryville Fire Department all responded to the scene.
Authorities immediately shut down the facility as they began their investigation into how the worker ended up trapped inside the massive industrial equipment.
Local law enforcement confirmed that while foul play is not suspected in Gomez’s death, the circumstances surrounding how he gained access to the inside of the oven remain unclear.
Gomez was reportedly using a power washer on the machine from the outside when the incident occurred, making his presence inside the oven particularly puzzling to investigators.
Perry County Coroner Meghan Ellis told media outlets that federal workplace safety officials have been notified about the accident.
“OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] has been contacted concerning this accident and will be conducting its investigation,” Ellis stated in an official release.
According to a statement provided to Fox News Digital, “The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has an open and ongoing investigation into this incident.”
The tragic incident has spotlighted the Gilster-Mary Lee Corporation, which has been in operation for over 125 years with 11 manufacturing facilities across Missouri and Illinois.
The company has not issued any statement regarding the worker’s death or their employment practices, particularly concerning the hiring of an illegal alien who was working under an assumed identity.
This case bears troubling similarities to another industrial accident in Canada, where a 19-year-old Walmart employee was found dead inside a bakery oven.
These incidents highlight the potential dangers facing workers in food production facilities and raise questions about whether proper safety protocols are being followed and enforced.
While authorities work to determine exactly how Gomez became trapped in the oven, the incident also draws attention to the broader issue of illegal employment in American manufacturing.
It remains unknown how long the man had been employed at the facility under his false identity or whether proper background checks and employment verification were conducted before his hiring.
As federal investigators examine the plant’s safety procedures and employment practices, this tragedy serves as a reminder of the dangers that can arise when workplace safety regulations are not rigorously enforced.
The incident also underscores concerns about the employment of individuals who may not be properly documented or trained for potentially hazardous industrial work.
OSHA’s investigation will likely examine not only the circumstances of Gomez’s death.
It will also verify the overall safety culture and compliance history of the Gilster Mary Lee facility as it works to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
