The last bodies that remained inside a Longview paper mill after a deadly chemical tank rupture have been recovered, clearing the way for a more intensive investigation into what caused the disaster that killed 11 people, authorities said Saturday.
“This is a horrific tragedy that has profoundly impacted our community,” Cowlitz County Coroner Dana Tucker said at a briefing where she shared the names of the deceased. Some family members gathered near the scene wept quietly as Tucker read the names of those killed in the deadliest workplace disaster in Washington state in more than a century.
“These were fathers, sons, mentors and community members, who helped build this facility and this community every single day,” Kurt Stich, deputy chief of Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue said with tears in his voice as he described the challenging search at the Southwest Washington mill.
The victims included two brothers, several grandfathers and a man expecting his third child. The bodies of nine workers were recovered from inside the mill over several days and two others were pronounced dead at area hospitals.
Officials released the names of the 11 people who died in the Nippon Dynawave mill disaster
Gilbert Bernal - 52
Tyler Covington - 29
Bradley Covington - 27
Robert Wilson - 48
Dale Miller - 54
Jared Ammons -35
Braydon Finkas -38
Clinton Doran -26
John Forsberg -51
Norman Barlow -58
Dillon Miller - age not available
Brooke Iverson, the daughter of victim Norman Barlow, drove to Longview from Yelm, Washington, to hear the official announcement. Barlow was the last of the workers inside the mill to be removed and identified, she said.
“He raised me as a single dad. He was there. He made it look effortless. He was strong. He was the best guy out there. He was a god in these trades. He was selfless,” she told OPB after his death was announced.
A lesson she said she will carry on from her father: “Don’t focus on working all the time. Put your family first. My dad always regretted not doing that.”
As the community mourns, local and state officials have been working to contain the environmental damage outside the Nippon Dynawave Packaging Co.
Dead fish, tadpoles and other small wildlife have died from chemical exposure, and crews continue to flush water through a network of ditches to dilute contamination.
The investigation into the cause of the rupture can intensify now that all of the victims have been removed from the paper mill, authorities said. The U.S. Chemical Safety Board arrived on site Wednesday, and pressure is mounting on local and federal officials for answers on what went wrong.
For many residents in Longview, one of the biggest questions is the fate of the Nippon Dynawave facility, which has been the site of a mill since a year after Longview was first incorporated a century ago.
Paper mills are part of the heart of Longview, said Rose Scattergood, who helped organize a community barbecue Saturday to raise funds for the families of the dead.
“My main worry is, is this gonna shut down the mills, you know, for permanently or indefinitely? And then, you know, how do we turn that around? What do we do next?”
Those answers may not come until a federal investigation identifies the cause of the tank rupture.
Recovery workers were careful to preserve evidence as they sought to find and remove nine victims who were trapped inside the paper mill after Tuesday’s chemical release, Stich said. Two others were declared dead at hospitals after the blast.
“Our crews were working in indoor areas that were littered with desks and large cabinets and debris from this event,” he said. “It was physically laborious work. It was very difficult.”
Stich said crews also used drones to fly over the area to make sure they weren’t missing anything before declaring the recovery operation complete.
“This work has been intense. It’s been methodical, and incredibly difficult for everyone that’s been involved.”
