Displaying items by tag: Death

Germany: KS-Engineering says that Klaus Schneider died on 14 September 2023, at the age of 71. Schneider had served as managing director of KS-Engineering since 1991. He first launched the business as an ‘engineering office for environmental process engineering.’ Schneider was an internationally recognised luminary in the field of pneumatic conveyor technology, and was well known around the professional world through his seminars, articles and specialist contributions on the topic.

KS-Engineering described Schneider as ‘Creative, with a lot of scientific curiosity, always imaginative and with enormous commitment.’ His family will hold a memorial service and funeral in Rudersdorf cemetery hall at 11AM on 20 September 2023.

India: A worker had been killed and two others seriously injured at a fire that broke out at Dalmia Cement’s Banjari cement plant on 1 September 2023. The staff were reportedly cleaning the kiln at the unit in Bihar when the incident took place, according to the Hindustan Times newspaper. The name of the dead worker has been confirmed as Sanjiv Kumar Singh.

US: Buzzi Unicem USA has challenged penalties worth US$62,500 and denied that it failed in its duty to protect an employee who died after falling into the Mississippi River while working on a barge at the Natchez terminal in Mississippi in February 2023. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited multiple alleged safety violations by the Buzzi subsidiary in a report published in mid-August 2023.

Buzzi Unicem USA said “The company strongly contends that it did not violate the regulations set forth in the citations regarding personal floatation devices and guardrails, and therefore timely filed notice with OSHA that it is contesting the alleged violations contained in these citations (as well as certain aspects of the other citations).” It continued “The company objects to any characterisation by OSHA that the citations are a final determination that the company violated any OSHA regulation or caused the death of our valued employee.”

US: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) of the US Department of Labor has found that Buzzi Unicem USA failed in its duty to implement safe practices, after a 50-year-old employee died at work in February 2023. The victim was working on a Mississippi River barge belonging to Buzzi Unicem USA subsidiary River Cement Sales when he fell overboard, leading to his death. OSHA concluded that Buzzi Unicem USA had committed multiple serious safety violations. Those connected to the tragedy in February 2023 included failures to ensure that workers wore personal floatation devices and to install guardrails. The administration said that the failures ‘cost a worker his life.’ Safety inspectors proposed a fine of US$62,500 for the breaches.

Malaysia: Police reported the death of a man at a cement plant in Kinta District on 16 August 2023. The 26-year-old contractor had been cleaning hardened cement from a silo through its manhole, when he fell in and was submerged by cement. Medical staff pronounced him dead after his arrival at hospital. Perak State Occupational Safety and Health Department has issued a stop-work notice to the contractor.

Cement plants in Kinta District include Aalborg Portland Malaysia’s Aalborg Perak plant, Malayan Cement’s Kanthan plant and Tasek Cement’s Tasek cement plant.

US: Heidelberg Materials North America reported the death of a man at its Port Everglades cement terminal in Florida on 5 August 2023. Local press has reported that the body of the man was found inside equipment, where he is believed to have fallen. He was an external contractor who had been carrying out repair work. Authorities are currently investigating the tragedy.

Heidelberg Materials North America said "We are working closely with the appropriate authorities to ensure a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident."

India: Police are investigating an incident in which a construction worker died and two others were injured at My Home Industries’ Huzurnagar cement plant in the Suryapet District of Telangana. Workers were laying concrete for a new medium-rise building on the site on 25 July 2023, when a pipe conveying concrete became congested. Three workers succeeded in clearing the blockage, however this caused a powerful burst of concrete, knocking them into a lift, which fell to the ground floor. The Indian Express newspaper has reported that 32 year-old Arvind Singh died, while his colleague Raja Singh is receiving treatment for a head injury in Hyderabad. The third worker, Hassan Jamal, has since been discharged from hospital.

Police have reportedly filed charges of negligence against the contractor responsible for the site.

India: Three workers died after an oxygen cylinder exploded at UltraTech Cement’s Hirmi cement plant in Chhattisgarh on 18 July 2023. The Indian Express newspaper has reported that the workers were subcontractors hired to carry out repairs at the 1.9Mt/yr integrated cement plant. They reportedly brought the cylinder with them to the site before it exploded for unknown reasons. Police are investigating the event, and have named the victims as Lakesh Kumar Gayakwad, Shatruhan Lal Verma and Umesh Kumar Verma. The men were aged between 21 and 27.

Taiwan: A 57-year-old worker died after falling into slag cement in the production line of CHC Resources Corporation's Kaohsiung slag cement plant at 16:00 on 22 June 2023. CNA English News has reported that the victim was submerged for a prolonged period. A second man, aged 51, also entered the cement, but escaped with 'minor injuries.' The workers had been carrying out cleaning work on the line. Local authorities reportedly said that CHC Resources Corporation had 'No proper safety protocols' in place for the activity.

India: Sanghi Industries suspended operations at it Sanghipuram cement plant in Gujarat from 13 June 2023, ahead of the landfall of Cyclone Biparjoy on 15 June 2023. EB News has reported that Sanghi Industries has established refuges for its workers and host community, and has prepared food and first aid deliveries, emergency transport and monitoring. The company said that it will restart operations when normal conditions resume and in compliance with the advice of the government.

Times Now News has reported that Cyclone Biparjoy killed two people and injured 22 on the coast of Gujarat. Extremely heavy rain is forecast for 17 June 2023 in Kachchh District, where the Sanghipuram cement plant is located.