Worker Caught in Packing Machine in Critical Condition

A 60-year-old Oxnard man was critically injured Monday night when he was sucked into an avocado packing machine while doing maintenance work at Mission Produce Inc. outside Oxnard, authorities said.

The man, who was not immediately identified, was expected to lose both arms beneath the elbow, Ventura County Fire Capt. Rod Sims said.

“He was trapped in a conveyor belt mechanism,” Sims said. “It was a technical rescue because we had to try to extract him while dismantling part of the equipment.”

Firefighters from the county, Oxnard and the Point Mugu naval base responded to the scene and used an electric cutting tool to free the man.

Sims said the victim was taken to the hospital partially wrapped in the conveyor belt and with a portion of the machine still attached to him because firefighters did not want to risk injuring him further.

He was in critical condition at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard.

The accident occurred about 7:45 p.m. in the 3800 block of Dafau Road off Pacific Coast Highway, Ventura County Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Noguera said.

The victim was found by a co-worker, who apparently called 911, Sims said. Late Monday, officials from the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health were trying to determine what caused the man to fall or be sucked into the machine.

“Unfortunately, we have quite a few of these [industrial accidents],” Sims said. “In agricultural areas, you have these accidents all the time.”