6 dead named as inquiry into fatal nitrogen leak continues

ATLANTA — Workers at a northeast Georgia poultry plant said they escaped through a fog of vaporizing liquid nitrogen that killed six of their coworkers, as an investigation continued Friday into the cause of the leak at Foundation Foods Group.

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office reported Friday that the dead included 45-year-old Jose DeJesus Elias-Cabrera of Gainesville, 35-year-old Corey Alan Murphy of Clermont, 28-year-old Nelly Perez-Rafael of Gainesville, 41-year-old Saulo Suarez-Bernal of Dawsonville, 38-year-old Victor Vellez of Gainesville and 28-year-old Edgar Vera-Garcia of Gainesville.

Four people remained hospitalized Friday, said Beth Downs, a spokesperson for Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, with three in critical condition and one in fair condition.

Investigators have begun evaluating equipment at the plant that could have played a role in the leak, but said its location and cause had yet to be determined. The state fire marshal’s office has ruled out a shut-off valve on piping that connects a storage tank outside the building to equipment inside, spokesman Weston Burleson said. He said the agency does not oversee other equipment at the plant and referred additional questions to authorities in Hall County, who he said are leading the investigation along with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Workers poured out of the plant Thursday morning after a liquid nitrogen line burst at the plant. It processes chicken into items like nuggets and then freezes them for later use.

Jameel Fareed told WSB-TV that he avoided walking into the cloud of liquid nitrogen.

“First we just thought there was something wrong with the freezer, then they started saying, ‘Get out,’” Fareed said. “I just saw the fog and when I couldn’t see down the steps, I turned around. But I didn’t feel anything.”

“If I had gone down there, I probably would have fallen out. Everyone that went down there fell out,” Fareed said.

Maria del Rosario Palacios leads Georgia Familias Unidas, a Latino advocacy group in Gainesville. She said a number of workers told her they developed headaches, apparently from a lack of oxygen. She said workers told her there was a loud noise, and then some workers were rushed into a room at the plant before going outside, with a strong odor indicating the presence of nitrogen.

Workers who weren’t hospitalized were examined after being evacuated to a nearby church, but Palacios said she’s worried that they may have suffered undetected injuries.

“These families need medical attention,” Palacios said. “It’s hard convincing folks to go in and get checked out.”

Jeff Amy And Sudhin Thanawala, The Associated Press