Woman killed after falling into meat grinder at food processing plant

A woman was killed on Monday after falling into a commercial meat grinder at a food processing plant in Pennsylvania.

As ABC News reports, the woman was found dead by a coworker after the employee heard strange noises coming from the commercial grinder.

Lycoming County coroner Charles Kiessling Jr. told the news station it appeared the woman was standing on a wheeled staircase just before the accident.

“This is just a tragedy,” Kiessling said. “She died inside the moving parts of the machine.”

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The coroner said Jill Greninger, 35, fell into the machinery around 11:30 a.m.

“We talked to the person who found her. He said he heard a noise and went to check on her and found her in the machine,” Kiessling told ABC. “He put the power down and called 911.”

Witnesses told the news station it took fire officials about 45 minutes to disassemble the machine in an effort to recover the woman’s remains.

It’s unclear as to how the woman ended up in the machine.

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“I don’t know if she got caught with the moving parts and they pulled her in, or if she just slipped and fell,” the coroner said, “I don’t know and there’s no way of determining that.”

The death is being investigated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

–with a file from the Associated Press