Tennessee investigating plastics factory after workers trapped by Hurricane Helene floods died or went missing

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the state’s criminal investigation agency, said Wednesday it is looking into allegations against an Erwin plastics factory where several workers died and some went missing after they were swept away by floodwaters from Hurricane Helene.

“At the request of 1st Judicial District Attorney General Steve Finney, TBI agents are investigating allegations involving Impact Plastics,” Leslie Earhart, the bureau’s spokesperson, said in a statement to NBC News. The bureau deferred additional questions to the District Attorney General’s Office.

Finney in a statement said that he specifically asked “that they review the occurrences of Friday, September 27, 2024, to identify any potential criminal violations.”

Later on Wednesday, Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration spokesperson Chris Cannon said they are coordinating with TBI “to determine when TOSHA inspectors can safely travel to Erwin and begin their on-site inquiry into the circumstances that led to the deaths of employees at Impact Plastics.”

A spokesperson for Impact Plastics said in an email response to NBC News that the company is aware of the investigation but has not yet been contacted. “It will cooperate fully,” the statement said. “The company is conducting its own internal review of events and timelines of September 27th and will share the information once the review is complete.”

Relatives of the missing and deceased workers and factory employees who survived have alleged they were made to show up to work despite the hurricane moving through the area. Some have said they were denied the chance to leave before the floodwaters from heavy rainfall inundated the plastics factory’s parking lot and cut off their escape routes.

Robert “Robby” Jarvis, one of the surviving employees, told NBC News his requests to leave were denied and he was told instead to move his car, which he did twice.

He said despite the weather “we were told to be at work” and about 30 people were working Friday morning when the flooding trapped them. He described a scene of chaos and panic as workers tried to traverse the deadly waters.

“I just wish we never went to work that day. Because it was unnecessary, all these lives we lost because of that. It was wrong,” Jarvis said.

Bertha Mendoza, 56, was among workers who were trapped. Her son, Guillermo Mendoza, confirmed to NBC News that she had died when she was swept from the flatbed of a truck of a company next door to the plastics factory that had come to rescue her.

Fernando Ruiz, the son of Lidia Verdugo, one of the plant workers, also confirmed to NBC News that his mother had died. She fell into the water from a vehicle that was trying to get her to safety, he said.

Myron Jones, a spokesperson for the Tennessee All-Hazard Incident Management Team, said Wednesday it is looking into whether a language barrier played a role in what happened.

“That’s one of the things the 911 director is looking into when she’s going over the dispatch log and times of dispatch,” Jones said.

Impact Plastics has expressed sympathy for the missing and deceased workers but said in a statement that workers were given time to leave the factory.

“While most employees left immediately, some remained on or near the premises for unknown reasons,” the company said in a statement. “Senior management and assistants remained to oversee employee departures, assess damage and preserve company records. They were the last to exit the building.”

The company has also said that at no time did it tell workers they would be fired if they left and that bilingual staff delivered warnings to workers.

The company said five workers and a contractor were on a truck that was tipped over in the floodwaters. The company and state officials are not publicly identifying the dead in deference to their families.