Worker in Smithfield Foods plant in Crete killed in accident

CRETE, Neb. (AP) — A worker at the Smithfield Foods plant in the southeastern Nebraska city of Crete has died in a workplace accident, authorities said.

The accident happened Saturday night when a forklift caused storage shelves in a freezer area of the plant’s distribution warehouse to collapse, the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

Smithfield Foods’ chief administrative officer, Keira Lombardo, said the shelving collapsed onto and killed an employee. Officials had not released the employee’s name by Monday morning.

Lombardo said product shipments from that part of the plant were suspended and that Smithfield is providing support to employees.