Displaying items by tag: Death

Bangladesh: Two workers have been killed at the cement grinding plant at Paschim Muktarpur in Munshiganj operated by Crown Cement. The workers died after being struck by falling material when entering a room at the site to clean it, according to the New Nation newspaper. Another worker was critically injured in the incident.

Belarus: A worker has been killed in an accident at the Krasnaselskbudmateryyaly cement plant in Vawkavysk. The 32 year old contractor was cleaning a heat exchanger in a storage facility when a layer of cement fell on him and a co-worker, according to the Belarusian Private News Agency. The man died at the scene from asphyxia. His colleague was taken to hospital with injuries. An investigation into the incident has started.

Syria: An investigation by the Agence France Presse has found that one local employee of Lafarge in Syria was killed and another has been missing for five years. According to the news agency, Syrian mechanic Yassin Ismail, who was employed at Lafarge's plant at Jalabiya, was kidnapped by jihadist fighters in 2013. He was subsequently executed, according to relatives and former work colleagues. Another mechanic Abdul al-Homada, was disappeared in Aleppo in 2013 while attempting to collect his salary.

LafargeHolcim is being investigated in France over claims that Lafarge Syria had paid extremist groups to keep its Jalabiya cement plant operational after the outbreak of war in Syria. Six former Lafarge executives have been charged with financing a terrorist organisation. Those managers could also face prosecution for endangering the lives of their local Syrian employees after 11 of them filed their own lawsuit alleging that Lafarge put financial profit before their personal safety.

China: Six workers have been killed at a BBMG cement plant in Zhuolu County in Hebei. They were cleaning a storage unit when concrete slabs fell on them. The workers died later at hospital.

US: Bud Biggs, the long-term plant manager of the Mitsubishi Cement plant in Lucerne Valley, California, died at the age of 77 on 18 November 2017. It is thought that he suffered a heart attack. Biggs, who only retired in February 2017, had been manager of the plant since 1986.

Bud Biggs began his career at Kaiser Cement in Cupertino, California in 1962, first working in quality control and in concrete research. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1980 while working for the company. After a period working in Texas, he returned to California in 1986 to work at Kaiser Cement’s Lucerne Valley plant. Initially working as production manager, he was promoted to plant manager shortly afterwards, retaining his role when Mitsubishi Cement acquired Kaiser Cement.

Over the years Biggs made great contributions to the local community. In 2005 he and Mitsubishi Cement’s Senior Vice President Mike Jasberg formed the Mitsubishi Cement Corporation Educational Foundation (MCCEF), which provides additional funding for local schools and scholarships for students. Biggs was also on the boards of several other local educational and professional institutes.

Malaysia: Yeoh Tiong Lay, the founder of YTL Group, has died at the age of 88. Lay started with a construction company in Kuala Selangor in 1955 and the built the company into a conglomerate including cement production, power generation, water and sewerage services, communications, construction contracting, property development and investment, hotel development management and more. He was appointed to the board of directors of YTL Corp in mid-1984 and was appointed as the executive chairman in 1985.

Canada: A man has died after falling nearly 10m from a catwalk at Lafarge Canada’s Beachville limestone quarry near Woodstock, Ontario on 23 August 2017. Walter Nuvoloni, 47, was a long-standing purchasing manager at the company. He had been in the position since 2001.

"This is a very difficult and tragic incident and we are deeply saddened at the loss of our colleague,” said Karine Cousineau, Lafarge spokesperson, in a statement. “Our thoughts are with our colleague's friends and family. Lafarge is providing the support of our employee assistance program to help co-workers cope with the loss." Cousineau added that Lafarge Canada would not be commenting further on Nuvoloni's death.

Police initially held the scene before turning over the investigation to the Ontario Ministry of Labour, which is investigating the death. Ontario Provincial Police Constable Stacey Culbert told local press that the ministry will re-contact police if the investigation deems any action to be criminal.

Indonesia: Rizkan Chandra, the President Director of Semen Indonesia, has died at the age of 48 years. He was appointed to the post in May 2016 for the period 2016 – 2020, according to the Jakarta Globe newspaper. Rizkan, who graduated from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) in 1987, was previously appointed as strategy and business development director at the cement producer. He was also a former network and information technology director at Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Telkom).

Darmawan Junaidi will be the acting president director for Semen Indonesia. He has previously served as finance director for the company.

India: P R Ramasubrahaneya Rajha, the chairman of business conglomerate Ramco Group, has died at the age of 82 after a brief illness. He is survived by his wife and son P R Venkatarama Rajha, the vice-chairman and managing director of the group, according to the Press Trust of India. Ramasubrahaneya Rajha was the son of the group’s founder P A C Ramasamy Rajah.

Mexico: Martha Soledad Rodríguez Rico, the chief financial officer of Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) has died. The company is conducting a succession process that will appoint a replacement in due course.