Automakers work hard to make their factories as safe as possible. But in the end, they’re still dangerous places to work, and incidents do happen from time to time.
Unfortunately in this case, the apparent accident claimed the life of one individual. According to Automotive News, a private contractor was killed on Wednesday at BMW’s assembly plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Though still under investigation, the incident reportedly occurred in the paint shop at the sprawling manufacturing campus.
“I can confirm at this time that my office responded to the BMW plant off Hwy 101 where we discovered a private contractor working on BMW equipment deceased,” stated country coroner Rusty Clevenger. “The decedent was not a BMW employee.” The victim’s identity was not disclosed pending notification of next of kin.
The cause of death has not yet been identified, but the paint shop has reportedly closed while the incident is being examined. “Since this is an active investigation, BMW is not able to comment further at this time,” said a spokesman for the manufacturer. The county sheriff’s office said that “all indications at this time are this incident is nothing more than a tragic accident.”
BMW’s only assembly plant in North America, the Spartanburg facility is also its largest worldwide. The factory handles production of most of the company’s crossovers, including the X3, X4, X5, and X6. It’s currently gearing up to produce the new X7 as well. With 70 percent of its output exported to markets overseas, the Spartanburg factory makes BMW the largest exporter of automobiles (by value) in the United States.
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