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OSHA Investigates Fatal Oven Entrapment at Missouri Cereal Plant

OSHA is investigating the June 26 entrapment of a Guatemalan worker in a deactivated industrial oven at the Gilster‐Mary Lee plant

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Overview

  • Nicolas Lopez Gomez, 38, a Guatemalan national working under the alias Edward Avila, was found dead inside a powered‐down industrial oven in Perryville on June 26
  • Local authorities have ruled out foul play but say it remains unclear how Gomez became trapped inside the shut‐off machine
  • OSHA has launched a formal inquiry to determine whether required safety and lockout-tagout procedures were followed during equipment maintenance
  • Police, firefighters and EMS personnel coordinated a rescue effort but were unable to reach Gomez before he died
  • The incident echoes a similar non-suspicious oven entrapment death at a Canadian bakery last October, highlighting systemic risks in industrial baking equipment