- An explosion at Tyson's Camilla poultry plant killed a 61-year-old woman and injured several workers.
- The blast originated in the boiler room, causing flames and smoke visible to nearby residents.
- The deceased woman was not an employee but was resting in a truck when the explosion occurred.
- The Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union called for an investigation and emphasized worker safety.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Late Thursday night, an explosion at Tyson's Camilla poultry plant left a 61-year-old woman dead and several workers injured, two of whom were transported to the hospital with severe burns.
The blast, believed to have started in the boiler room, sent flames and smoke into the night sky, shocking nearby residents.
"It was a loud boom, and then you see the flames. It probably was about five to ten minutes of burning… And then the ambulance and everybody got out of there, but it burned for a few minutes."
Katoria Peterson and her grandfather, Larry Thompson, live across from the plant.
They say they've never seen anything like this before.
"I know a lot of people that work over there, and they're from all around."
Mitchell County Coroner, Robbie Willis says the victim, a 61-year-old woman, wasn't a plant employee. Her husband, a truck driver, was in the building during the explosion but unharmed. She was asleep in their truck when the blast burned the section where she was resting. The couple, from Las Vegas, Nevada, was in Camilla for his work.
Despite the explosion, operations at the plant continued this morning, raising concerns from workers and residents about safety.
"Some of them are at work now. I don't understand why they're at work now because if you can smell it… I can smell it from my window, just the smell of burning. So, if I can smell it, I know it's worse over there."
The Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, representing about 1,600 workers at the plant, issued a statement urging for safety to be a top priority.
They called for a thorough investigation into the explosion and emphasized the need for workers to feel safe returning to the facility.
While the woman's body has been recovered, neighbors tell me they're still worried about whether it's safe for people to be working there. Investigations are ongoing to determine what caused the boiler to explode.
