Bartow County Coroner Joel Guyton has identified 33-year-old Marion Jose Rugama of Norcross as the man found dead at Qcells, located on Great Valley Parkway and Cassville Pine Log Road, on Monday night. The Cartersville Fire Department responded to the large manufacturing facility and discovered Rugama lying unresponsive on top of a tank, without a pulse and not breathing. The oxygen level at the top of the tank was around 15%, which is insufficient for survival. Fire department personnel removed Rugama from the tank, and a deputy coroner later pronounced him deceased.
Rugama was reportedly a contractor working for Hyoungwon E&C America, Incorporated. The cause of his death is under investigation, with a nitrogen leak being a potential factor, as no other chemicals or gases are used in that area.
Korea JoongAng Daily, the English edition of the South Korean national newspaper JoongAng Ilbo, has reported that this incident marked the first of two workers killed in separate accidents at U.S. factories operated by Korean companies within a span of two days. A fatal accident occurred on Tuesday at a battery plant located within Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Bryan County. In that incident, 27-year-old Allen Kowalski died when cargo fell from a forklift during the loading of a truck, striking him while he was nearby. Kowalski was a contractor working at the mega site.