Authorities this morning released the names of the six people who died on January 28 when a liquid nitrogen line ruptured at a meat processing plant in Gainesville.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office investigators notified the victims’ next of kin Thursday after the industrial accident at Foundation Food Group. One woman and five men were killed. Four of the victims were from Gainesville. They’re identified as Nelly Perez-Rafael, 28; Jose DeJesus Elias-Cabrera, 45; Victor Vellez, 38; and Edgar Vera-Garcia, 28. Clermont resident Corey Alan Murphy, 35, was also killed as was Saulo Suarez-Bernal, 41, of Dawsonville.
Authorities transported their bodies to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab for autopsy.
The accident injured eleven people. Four remain hospitalized at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Three of them are in critical condition and one is in fair condition, says Northeast Georgia Health System spokesperson Sean Couch. Seven others, including several firefighters, were treated and released.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office is involved in the ongoing death investigation. The Georgia Fire Marshal’s Office Investigations Unit, Hall County Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are working on all other aspects of the investigation.
