A Pennsylvania woman died Monday after falling into a meat grinder at her place of work, according to reports.
According to WNEP, Jill Greninger, 35, fell into the machinery at Economy Locker Storage Company in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, around 11:30 a.m. local time on Monday morning.
Lycoming County Coroner Charles E. Kiessling Jr. confirmed the death to ABC News, calling the accident a “tragedy.”
“This is just a tragedy,” he said. “She died inside the moving parts of the machine.”
The accident was reported when another employee heard strange noises coming from the machine.
“We talked to the person who found her,” Kiessling told ABC. “He said he heard a noise and went to check on her and found her in the machine. He put the power down and called 911.”
According to the Williamsport Sun-Gazette, Kiessling said no one witnessed the accident, so “we don’t know if she fell in or was pulled in as she was perhaps reaching for something in the grinder.”
Kiessling added that she was standing on a set of stairs on wheels at the time of the accident, and that the grinder was about six feet off of the ground.
The Sun-Gazette reported that firefighters responded to the scene, though the employee was already dead when they arrived. According to the outlet, the firefighters spent about 45 minutes disassembling the machine in order to recover the victim’s body.
Economy Locker Storage specializes in “wholesale meat processing and distribution needs,” according to the company’s website. They have been in business since 1905.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration told WNEP that they are still investigating the cause of death. This is the first reported death at the facility.
“My heart goes out to everyone who is affected by this,” a neighbor of the victim told WNEP. “Everyone is shaken and thinks that this is a tragedy that something like this had to happen to such a young lady.”
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