US: Authorities in the US have reported that a man died in an industrial accident at the National Cement plant in Lebec, California, on 6 January 2026. The Department of Industrial Relations said that an employee of MZP Kiln Services was killed when he was caught by a slide gate motor that shifted as he attempted to remove it.
The Kern County coroner's office identified the worker as 50-year-old Oswaldo Alejandro Rodas Hernandez from Jacksonville, Florida. It said he was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene. It determined the cause of death to be multiple blunt force injuries and stated the manner of death is accident.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health is investigating the accident. National Cement said "Our thoughts are with those impacted. We are cooperating fully with authorities and regulatory agencies, and we have no further comment at this time."