Two Defense Company Employees Mysteriously Found Dead at Facility During Night
Two people were found dead at a Northrop Grumman facility in Utah this week, with few details being released about the incident.
Utah TV station KUTV-TV is reporting the employees were “killed,” but offered no details to support that contention. It said autopsies of the employees, whom it calls “victims,” would be performed.
Roxanne Vainuku, a representative of the West Valley City Police Department said police responded to the defense contractor’s facility shortly after 6 p.m. on Monday, according to KSL-TV.
She said two employees were found unconscious but offered no other details about them or what happened to them.
“Fire Department crews attempted life saving measures and transported the two employees to the hospital where they were ultimately pronounced deceased,” Vainuku said.
#NorthrupGrumman #WVC 2 employees were found unconscious while at the #WestValley facility last night. They were transported and died at the hospital. I heard all the details but nothing has been confirmed. pic.twitter.com/4Bj7q5nvKo
— SLCScanner (@SLCScanner) January 31, 2023
“The Occupational Health and Safety Administration will conduct an investigation into this incident. West Valley City Police will coordinate with OSHA on the investigation,” she said.
“We extend our sincere condolences to the family of the employees who lost their lives as well as to the staff of [Northrop] Grumman,” Vainuku said.
A Northrop Grumman representative was also sparing with the details, according to Newsweek.
“We can confirm that two employees passed away at the Bacchus facility on January 30. We are deeply saddened by this news,” the representative said.
“The Northrop Grumman team all shares in this grief. Out of respect for the privacy of the employees and the families, we are not releasing any further details,” the representative said.
The company’s statement also said little about what took place.
“Family members have been notified, and we will be working with our employee assistance program for support and family services,” the statement said.
“Our employees are our most valued part of our business and this is a tragedy that affects our entire workforce,” the statement said.
Eric Olsen of Utah Occupational Safety and Health told KUTV-TV that its investigation will only focus on some aspects of the incident.
“It is important to note that we do not investigate the accident or fatality itself but rather, we investigate whether there were any violations of adopted safety and health standards. If violations are found then citations may follow. Timing on investigations varies but by statute we have up to 180 days to complete an investigation,” he said.
Olsen noted that he could not speak concerning the individual case.
Northrop Grumman is a major defense and aerospace contractor. Among other projects, the company is the lead contractor on the B-21 bomber, which has been billed as the Air Force’s next generation of long-range stealth bombers.
CORRECTION, Feb. 6, 2023: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Northrop Grumman.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
