Worker can’t escape molten steel pouring into pit after malfunction at plant, cops say

A worker at an Ohio manufacturing plant is dead after molten steel was spilled in an apparent workplace accident, police told news outlets.

It happened Jan. 13 at Ellwood Engineered Castings, in Hubbard Township, during a “routine” night shift operation, the company said in a news release, the Tribune Chronicle reported.

“Elwood Engineered Castings expresses our deepest sympathies to the team member’s family following this terrible incident,” company president Pat Callihan said, according to the outlet. “We are working to provide support to the family during this difficult time.”

Police say that at about 5 a.m., there was a malfunction that caused the liquified steel to pour out of a cast, spilling into a pit below, WFMJ reported.

Steel melts at about 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

A worker, who police only identified as “Jay,” was in the pit when the steel spilled, the station reported. Witnesses say an employee yelled for everyone to evacuate the area, while also trying to move the cast away from coworkers — but Jay wasn’t able to escape in time, according to police.

Molten steel “filled the entire floor area,” police told WKBN.

The worker was assigned to the pit, investigators told the outlet. He was equipped with a hose to deal with any spillage from the cast, police said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the worker’s death, the station reported.

Hubbard Township is roughly 80 miles southeast of Cleveland.

This story was originally published January 16, 2024 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Worker can’t escape molten steel pouring into pit after malfunction at plant, cops say."