Willmar Jennie-O Plant Evacuated; 24 Employees Taken To Hospital
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - A major processing plant in central Minnesota was evacuated Friday night.
Twenty-four people were taken to the hospital from the Jennie-O plant in Willmar.
Employees called for help at 7:23 p.m. after several people were coughing and vomiting at plant No. 4, according to Willmar Police Sgt. Michael Jahnek.
All patients were taken to Rice Memorial Hospital, where extra staff has been called in for assistance. One person was admitted to the hospital, and is in stable condition as of Saturday morning.
An employee at a gas station a mile-and-a-half from the plant described a Jennie-O worker coming to the station looking for help Friday night.
"He couldn't breathe, he was sweating profusely, his eyes were really red, he kept on pouring water over his head," the employee told WCCO.
The gas station worker said he'd heard ambulances going back and forth every five minutes for several hours.
In a statement from Hormel, the plant has been inspected by fire officials and internal safety inspectors. Both parties determined there was no cause for the incident.
Normal operations at the Jennie-O plant have resumed.
