Editor’s note: This story has been updated with the time of death from the Warren County Coroner’s Office.
A worker died early Monday morning at the Smithfield Foods plant in Monmouth, according to Smithfield and the Warren County Coroner’s Office.
Warren County Coroner Al McGuire told WGIL the time of death was 2:31 a.m. No cause of death has been determined. McGuire said he was heading to the autopsy and plans to release the worker’s name Tuesday, to give the family time to notify other relatives.
Ray Atkinson, senior director of external affairs for Smithfield, earlier confirmed the death to WGIL, saying the company is “deeply saddened” to confirm the loss of a team member who was fatally injured in a workplace incident at the Monmouth facility.
Atkinson said Smithfield safety personnel are on site investigating along with local authorities, and that the company’s thoughts are with the worker’s family.
The facility was on a delayed opening Monday morning, according to Atkinson. He later told WGIL the plant is back to normal operations.
An OSHA spokesperson confirmed to WGIL that the agency has an open and ongoing investigation into the fatal incident. The spokesperson said no additional information will be available until the investigation is complete, which can take up to six months under federal guidelines. Updates may be available on OSHA’s Establishment Search page at osha.gov.
WGIL will update this story when the worker is identified.
