Video shows a casket floating down rushing water in Erwin, Tennessee after historic rainfall caused by Hurricane Helene.
ERWIN, Tenn. – A devastating flood struck an East Tennessee plastics manufacturing plant during Hurricane Helene, resulting in multiple employees being missing or deceased.
Gerald O’Connor, the founder of Impact Plastics, Inc. in Erwin, expressed profound grief over the deaths of two people found dead after the flood at the factory. Several other people are still missing.
“We are devastated by the tragic loss of great employees,” O’Connor said. “Those who are missing or deceased, and their families are in our thoughts and prayers.”
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Cellphone video from the roof of the Unicoi County Hospital in Tennessee on Friday as employees and patients waited to be rescued from Helene’s flooding. (Video Courtesy: Jim Reeves, CEO MedicOne Medical Response)
Located in the Riverview Industrial Park, the plant was impacted by heavy rainfall last Friday. As the water levels rose and the plant lost power, management dismissed employees to ensure their safety.
Impact Plastics told FOX Weather in a written statement that employees were never told they would be fired if they left the facility. Despite that, some employees remained on or near the premises.
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Watch a road bridge in East Tennessee collapse into a river. Known as Kisner Bridge on Highway 107 in the town of Afton, the bridge was no match for the powerful waters of the flooded Nolichucky River. (Courtesy: Landon Duckett via Storyful)
As the flood worsened, some employees utilized a truck belonging to a neighboring company to escape the industrial park, according to Impact Plastics. Unfortunately, the truck tipped over, leading to the disappearance of five employees and a contractor. Five others who were also on the truck when it tipped over made it to safety and were later evacuated.
Another group of employees escaped the floods by traversing the CSX railroad tracks behind the facility, the company adds. With the assistance of employees from an adjacent company, they reached safety.
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Waves of raging river water were seen crashing over the Nolichucky Dam in Tennessee as authorities feared its imminent breach on Friday. The Tennessee Valley Authority said the breach could cause potentially life-threatening flooding downstream.
Senior management sought emergency assistance to rescue remaining employees, leading to the deployment of a National Guard helicopter, the company said. Those five employees were successfully airlifted to safety.
Impact Plastics has announced plans to resume operations in the future.
The death toll attributed to Helene’s impacts has been steadily climbing, with at least 134 people now confirmed dead in six states – Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.