Worker killed in industrial accident at canning facility in Ottawa

OTTAWA - An Ottawa man was killed Tuesday morning in an industrial accident at a Putnam County canning company.
A longtime maintenance worker was attempting to get a new machine up and running when the machine malfunctioned Tuesday morning.
Sheriff Jim Beutler said officials got the call of a man trapped in a banding machine at 11:28 a.m. The accident was at the Hirzel Canning Co., 325 Williamstown Road, in Ottawa. Hirzel cans tomatoes at the facility under the brand name of Dei Fratelli, the company's Web site said.
Exactly what happened remains under investigation, Beutler said.
"The only thing we know at this point is the individual was working on a machine that wraps banding around pallets," Beutler said. "For some unknown reason there was a malfunction on the machine and it trapped the individual."
Beutler said the machine is used to wrap plastic around product that has been palletized.
The victim, Nicacio Garcia, 49, of Ottawa, was taken to St. Rita's Ambulatory Care Center in Glandorf where he was pronounced dead, Beutler said. Beutler said members of Garcia's family, who also worked at the plant, were nearby when the accident happened.
Beutler said his office was sending its crisis response team to the company to assist employees who were distraught following the accident.
"It was a new machine. They were trying to set it up, trying to make it work," Beutler said. "They were still troubleshooting some of the problems they were having with it and while they were in the midst of making some changes it collapsed, trapping an individual."
Beutler said co-workers worked to disassemble the machine to free the victim prior to first responders arriving on the scene.
No foul play is suspected, Beutler said. The accident remains under investigation.