11 Tennessee factory workers swept away in Helene floodwaters, company responds to evacuation decision

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Hurricane Helene: Lawmakers respond to historic flooding

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Employees forced to work at a Tennessee plastics factory are recounting the day historic flooding took over their parking lot and caused the power to go out. Once the plant shut down, and they were sent home, several of the workers did not make it. 

Floodwaters swept 11 people away, and only five were rescued. Two of them are confirmed dead and part of the death toll across the affected states that passed 150 Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.

“We were all talking to the supervisors and telling everybody, ‘Look, we don’t need to be here,'” Impact Plastic employee Zinna Adkins told WJHL. “Our phone alerts were saying we need to flee the areas. And they never said anything about it. And supervisors didn’t tell us that we could go.”

Management of the company founded in 1987 and the factory located in Erwin sent out a statement to local media on Monday that “expressed sympathy for the missing and deceased employees and one contractor.”

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Impact Plastics factory is located in Erwin, Tennessee, and is closed due to extreme flooding in the area, its website says.  (Google Maps)

“At no time were employees told that they would be fired if they left the facility,” the statement continued.  

Impact Plastics says while most employees left immediately following dismissal, “some remained on or near the premises for unknown reasons.”

Jacob Ingram, a mold changer at the plastics factory, filmed himself and four others waiting for rescue as bobbing vehicles floated by. He later posted the videos on on Facebook with the caption, “Just wanna say im lucky to be alive.” Videos of the helicopter rescue were posted on social media later on Saturday.

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An aerial view of flood damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Erwin, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

“They should’ve evacuated when we got the flash flood warnings, and when they saw the parking lot,” Ingram said to the Knoxville News Sentinel. “We asked them if we should evacuate, and they told us not yet, it wasn’t bad enough.”

The two confirmed dead at the Tennessee plastics factory are Mexican citizens, Lisa Sherman-Nikolaus, executive director at Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition told the AP. She said many of the victims’ families have started online fundraisers to cover funeral costs and other expenses.

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Another aerial view of the damage following Hurricane Helene in Erwin, Tennessee, where Impact Plastics factory is located.  (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

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“For employees who were non-English speaking, bi-lingual employees were among the group of managers who delivered the message,” Impact Plastics statement read. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.