Worker Gets Trapped In Metal-Cutting Machine, Dies, Police Investigating

A worker at a Gardena, California, manufacturing plant died Monday after someone turned on a machine while he was cleaning inside.

A Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesperson said firefighters were dispatched to German Machined Products on Monday afternoon on reports that an employee was trapped inside a machine. However, by the time the firefighters reached the place, the man had succumbed to injuries.

Lt. Christopher Cuff said the employee was “conducting some sort of maintenance” on the machine, that cuts aluminum and sheet metal, when it was turned on, the Daily Breeze reported. He said the investigation was ongoing.

Following the incident, other employees were told over the loudspeaker to stop their work and go home. The operations were suspended Monday and it was expected to remain shut for a couple of days.

Cuff said officers interviewed the employees involved. He added that death could not be ruled accidental or intentional as the investigation was in the early stages.

The victim was not identified, however, Cuff said he worked in the company for a year and was in his 50s. The employee’s wife showed up at the scene a few hours later and was weeping uncontrollably. Other employees too gathered in small groups outside the building and were upset. Some of them also said they couldn’t look toward the machines after hearing the news.

The Gardena Police Department along with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office and the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration were working together to investigate the incident as well as to check if the company was giving proper training to the employees.

In a similar incident in September 2018, a man was killed after being sucked into a machine in a plastic factory in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Police reached the spot along with the man’s family and pulled out his body from the machine.

“Wajid reached for work this morning in the factory which makes plastic products. He was cleaning a big-size machine which has blades in it. While he was cleaning, someone switched on the machine and soon Wajid was sucked inside. By the time some of his colleagues realized and switched off the machine, he was dead,” a police officer told local daily the Hindustan Times.