Worker killed at Carson BP refineryBy Larry Altman Staff Writer
Posted: 06/22/2011 11:22:25 AM PDT
A longtime employee was killed Wednesday in an accident at a rail-loading facility at the BP refinery in Carson, a company spokesman said. The accident occurred shortly before 8 a.m. on the refinery’s grounds at 2350 E. 223rd St.,spokesman Walter Neil said.
“It’s obviously a tragic day for us,” Neil said. “One of our family members is no longer with us. That is going to be extremely hard for all of us here.”
Sheriff’s deputies, county firefighters and officials with the BP Fire Department and state Division of Occupational Safety and Health were investigating. Details of what happened were not immediately available, but it appeared the 43-year-old employee was pinned between train cars.
A television news broadcast helicopter showed a scene involving a rail tanker car. Neil said the accident occurred in a yard where butane is loaded and off-loaded from tankers.
No fire occurred and no one else was hurt. “We will certainly do a complete investigation,” Neil said.
The employee’s name was not immediately released pending notification of his family. Neil described him as “very beloved by everyone here.”
– Larry Altman
