Two workers are dead after being crushed to death at the XPO Logistics distribution center in Lockport, NY. The two workers were crushed to death by about 9,000 pound of Corian, a brand of solid surface material from DuPont that is used primarily for countertop installations.
According to investigators, at around 1:30 am last Monday 38-year-old Christopher Klosin and 62-year-old Roger Mangine were unloading 11 slabs of Corian off of a truck. The slabs weighed about 800 pounds each.
According to the local sheriff's office, co-workers didn't see it or hear it happen, and it is unclear how and why the slabs fell on the workers.
Chief Deputy Michael Dunn with the Niagara County Sheriff's Office told a local news station that the slabs were fastened to the wall of a trailer on the loading dock, and investigators don't know why they all collapsed at once.
The two were working with another crew that attempted to use a forklift to try and get the Corian slabs off of them, but as Dunn says, "the hard part with forklift is that ... you have two forks that go underneath, and if you have slabs of concrete on a person, you don't have a whole lot of room to work."
IEN has requested additional information about the accident, but has yet to receive any details.
Marc Smith is the local economic development coordinator. He told The Buffalo News that he has toured the facility, and insists that XPO takes safety seriously.
OSHA is currently investigating the accident, and XPO did issue a statement expressing its deepest sympathies to the family and coworkers.
