A Hillandale Farms’ layer barn collapse trapped eight contract workers and caused one fatality on Friday, July 29, 2022. The incident happened around 7:30 AM at the egg producer’s Adams County facility in Pennsylvania.
Emergency medical services (EMS) personnel and fire departments from multiple surrounding counties responded to the scene. Even though seven of the contractors were able to escape on their own, they have been hospitalized with unknown statuses, according to Centre Daily Times.
Rescue efforts for the sole trapped contract worker lasted four to five hours. When located, the worker was already dead, explained Megan Frazer, Pennsylvania State Police representative. The Adams County Coroner's Office determined the contractor died of traumatic asphyxia.
“This is a death investigation,” stated Frazer. “A later date may see the release of more details.”
While the victim’s full identity is not being disclosed, he has been identified as a 53-year-old man who resided in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Survivors
One of the contract workers who was able to escape the collapse described the incident happening in “a second.”
According to news station WGAL, a contract worker said, “I saw everything down, then I saw a little hole, and I went outside where I saw my friend.”
The contractors work for a third-party employer and are not affiliated with the egg producer. There were no birds in the building at the time of the collapse. Adams County reported the event to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.
This is not the only employee incident the egg producer has faced in 2022.
On May 2, a fatality occurred at the egg producer’s facility in Hicksville, Ohio. Twenty-one-year-old Sergio Ical-ba was declared dead after being caught in one of the processor’s conveyer belts.
The local fire department, EMS and the sheriff’s office all responded to the scene at approximately 3:30 P.M.
