Worker Dies in Missouri Factory Oven Accident

Nicolas Lopez Gomez, a 38-year-old Guatemalan national working under the alias Edward Avila, died after becoming trapped in a shut-off industrial oven at the Gilster-Mary Lee cereal plant in Perryville, Missouri. Emergency responders could not reach him in time, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Gomez had reportedly been power washing the oven from the outside before the accident, but it is still unclear how he ended up inside. Authorities have ruled out foul play, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched an investigation, with local officials cooperating. The company, which operates 11 locations across the Midwest, has not yet commented on the incident. This fatality follows a similar industrial oven death at a Canadian Walmart bakery last year, highlighting ongoing workplace safety concerns in industrial settings.