U.S. NEWS
Helene’s flooding swept away 11 workers at a Tennessee factory. Now the state is investigating

BY CEDAR ATTANASIO AND JONATHAN MATTISE
Updated 9:21 PM EDT, October 2, 2024

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee state authorities said Wednesday they were investigating the company that owns a plastics factory where 11 workers were swept away by cataclysmic flooding unleashed by Hurricane Helene.

As the nearby Nolichucky River swelled from rainfall, employees in the Impact Plastics factory in Erwin, a small community in rural Tennessee, kept working. Several asserted that they weren’t allowed to leave in time to avoid the storm’s impact. It wasn’t until water flooded into the parking lot and the power went out that the plant shut down and sent workers home. … Several never made it.

The raging waters swept 11 people away, and only five were rescued. Two of them are confirmed dead and are part of a toll across six states that has surpassed 180. Four others from the factory are still missing since they were washed away Friday in Erwin, where dozens of people were also rescued off the roof of a hospital.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Leslie Earhart said Wednesday that the agency is investigating allegations involving Impact Plastics at the direction of the local prosecutor. {snip} Secondary to the Bureau of Investigation, the state’s workplace safety office opened its own probe Wednesday into the circumstances behind the deaths. While announcing the investigation, the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration noted that companies have eight hours to report a workplace death, and it hadn’t yet received a fatality report from Impact Plastics as of Wednesday evening.

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Attanasio reported from New York. AP journalists Rhonda Shafner and Beatrice Dupuy contributed from New York.

CEDAR ATTANASIO
Attanasio covers New York City for The Associated Press with a focus on immigration and the ocean. He uses remote sensing to support the AP’s global coverage.
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