GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Known as a destination for immigrants seeking industry work, the Gainesville community is now picking up the pieces following a liquid nitrogen leak at the city's poultry plant.
Authorities have released the names of the six people who died, Thursday, following an explosion at the Foods Foundation Group plant. According to the Hall County Sheriff's Office, the victims included five men and one woman:
- Jose DeJesus Elias-Cabrera, 45, of Gainesville
- Corey Alan Murphy, 35, of Clermont
- Nelly Perez-Rafael, 28, of Gainesville
- Saulo Suarez-Bernal, 41, of Dawsonville
- Victor Vellez, 38, of Gainesville
- Edgar Vera-Garcia, 28, of Gainesville
Longtime resident Stephanie Lopez-Burgos is just one of many trying to help the predominantly Hispanic community by launching a GoFundMe account to support the medical, legal, and family expenses of impacted families.
“We just got off the phone with one of the family members of the deceased and she said they won’t give us the body because they don’t know where to take it," Lopez-Burgos said.
More than 40 percent of residents in Gainesville are Hispanic according to the latest U.S. Census. Lopez-Burgos said that many of the plant workers left the scene Thursday without receiving medical care out of fear of being deported.
Claudia Caycho an attorney with Castan & Lecca PC said that undocumented workers have employee rights just like any other worker.
"It’s super important that they seek medical treatment and that that treatment is paid for by the employer," Caycho said.
As of now, the incident is still under investigation. The sheriff's office is handling the death investigation. The Georgia Fire Marshal’s Office Investigations Unit, Hall County Fire Marshal’s Office, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) are working on the other parts of the investigation.