Inspectors for the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) are assisting Tynan, Texas, officials in their investigation of a deadly grain elevator collapse that killed one worker and seriously injured two others earlier this week.
Hundreds Joined in Search for Trapped Workers
The horrific tragedy occurred late in the afternoon of July 4th, when two grain elevators ruptured and collapsed onto a pair of 18-wheelers at R&R Commodities, located along Highway 359 about 50 miles from Corpus Christi.
Three workers were trapped in the collapse, setting off a frantic search and rescue effort that spanned several hours and involved around 250 emergency personnel from multiple agencies across the area.
“Thank God there was a lot of support that was given. I was extremely impressed by the amount of supporting entities that we got from other counties,” said Assistant Beeville Fire Chief Ryan Garza, according to KIII-TV.
R&R Commodities Grain Elevator Collapse Killed 37-Year-Old Man
Sadly, only two men survived being buried in the tons of corn that had spilled from the silos. Both are recovering at CHRISTUS Spohn Shoreline.
The body of the third worker, a 37-year-old man, was recovered from underneath a silo around 7:00 p.m. that evening
While it’s not clear what caused the grain elevators to collapse, all signs so far point to an accident.
“The initial investigation is that it is an accident,” Bee County Sheriff Department Chief Deputy Ronnie Jones told KIII-TV “Through investigating we will see if there was any criminal activity, but we haven’t seen any of that so far.”
“Whether it was striking it or just too much in one area equipment, we are not sure, we’re looking into that,” he continued. “OSHA is going to be involved in it, and we’re working on that as well.”
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