16-Year-Old Boy Dies After Becoming ‘Entangled’ in Machinery at Mississippi Poultry Plant
Duvan Perez's death is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division
Duvan Perez Facebook
Duvan Perez.A 16-year-old boy died last week while working at a Mississippi poultry plant.
Duvan Perez died at the Mar-Jac Poultry plant in Hattiesburg, deputy coroner Lisa Klem of the Forrest County Coroner's Office confirms to PEOPLE. The results of the autopsy will determine his cause of death.
"On the evening of Friday, July 14 an employee conducting sanitation operations at Mar-Jac Poultry MS LLC’s Hattiesburg, Mississippi poultry processing plant died as a result of injuries sustained in an accident," Mar-Jac Poultry said in a statement to CNN. "We deeply regret the loss and send our most sincere condolences to his family and friends."
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE on Thursday, the company said that the teen "suffered a fatal injury when he became entangled in the machinery he was cleaning."
“The company immediately reported the incident to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and they commenced an investigation, which continues with the company's full cooperation," the statement continued.
OSHA and The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division previously confirmed to PEOPLE they have launched investigations into "this tragic incident."
Per federal law, minors are banned from working at meat and poultry plants due to the Department of Labor declaring the types of jobs as "particularly hazardous" or "detrimental to their health or well-being," according to NBC affiliate WDAM-TV.
If a company is found in violation, it could face a federal fine of more than $30,000 per incident, per NBC News.
"This tragedy was compounded when we learned that the victim was a minor," the company said in its statement, noting that "due to an unprecedentedly tight labor market Mar-Jac MS relies on staffing companies to fill its facility."
"Although the investigation is ongoing, it appears now that this worker was less than 18 years of age and should not have been hired," their statement read. "Mar-Jac would never knowingly put any employee, and certainly not a minor, in harm's way but it appears, at this point that the investigation, that this individual's age and identity were misrepresented on the paperwork."
"We are devastated at the loss of life, and deeply regret that an underage individual was hired without our knowledge," the company added. "The company is undertaking a thorough audit with the staffing companies to ensure that this kind of error never happens again."
Related: Wisconsin Boy, 13, Who Disappeared 1 Month Ago May Be Attempting to Live ‘Off the Grid’: Police
Perez was a middle school student who arrived in the United States from Huispache, Guatemala, about six years ago, per NBC News.
"We’re very sad," a relative told the outlet. "He was generous, smiley and very fun and very responsible at work."
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Complex manager Joe Colee defended the plant's conditions, telling CNN that "our employees are our most valuable asset, and safety is our number one priority."
"We strive daily to work as safely as possible and are truly devastated whenever an employee is injured," Colee said.
Colee did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
According to NBC News, this was the second time in two years that a plant worker died as a result of an accident-related injury. According to OSHA records obtained by the outlet, the agency fined Mar-Jac Poultry more than $27,000, but the company contested the fine and the case remains ongoing.
In June, NBC News reported that a federal investigation into Guatemalan children working in the U.S. in violation of child labor laws has expanded to include meatpacking and produce companies in at least 11 states.
The teen's death also comes as 14 states seek to introduce bills to roll back child labor laws, per The Independent and Wisconsin Public Radio.
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