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Chattanooga chicken plant worker dies; state investigating

Staff photo / Chickens are transported into the Pilgrim's Pride plant on Broad Street in 2015. One worker at the plant died early Monday morning, according to state officials.
Staff photo / Chickens are transported into the Pilgrim's Pride plant on Broad Street in 2015. One worker at the plant died early Monday morning, according to state officials. Staff photo / Chickens are transported into the Pilgrim's Pride plant on Broad Street in 2015. One worker at the plant died early Monday morning, according to state officials.

A worker died at a Chattanooga chicken plant early Monday morning, according to state officials.

One person was reported dead at the Pilgrim’s Pride plant on Broad Street at 9 a.m. Monday, according to Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development spokesperson Chris Cannon.

(UPDATE: State investigator didn’t visit Chattanooga chicken plant, official now says, and worker’s death may be unrelated to work)

Tennessee’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration sent an investigator to the plant to look into the circumstances of the worker’s death, Cannon said in an email.

The facility reported the death within the required eight-hour time frame, according to Cannon, which means it likely happened in the early hours of Monday.

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It’s unclear how the worker died.

The death investigation could take up to six months, Cannon said.

“During the investigative process, the TOSHA investigator typically surveys the location of the incident, reviews company records and procedures and conducts interviews with management and employees,” he said in an email.

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Once the report is complete, its findings will be made public.

A representative for Pilgrim’s could not immediately be reached Monday afternoon. Questions to the company’s corporate headquarters were referred back to the Chattanooga location.

Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319.