Tennessee plastics factory workers killed in Hurricane Helene reportedly told not to evacuate | Hurricane Helene

Several employees at a plastics factory in East Tennessee died or are missing during Hurricane Helene. It has been warned that the storm's death toll, currently over 130, is likely to rise significantly as receding floodwaters allow rescuers to sift through the rubble.

Impact Plastics confirmed there had been deaths at its Erwin plant but did not provide details on the number of fatalities. The company said there were missing and deceased employees as well as a contractor.

Officials said at least 130 people in five southeastern U.S. states were killed by the accident of Helene, which crashed ashore in the Big Bend region of Florida late Thursday.

Jacob Ingram, a mold changer at the company, told the Knoxville News Sentinel that at the start of the flooding, managers instructed employees to move their cars away from the rising water – but didn't let them go. “They should have evacuated when we got the flash flood warning and when they saw the parking lot,” he told the newspaper. “When we moved our cars we should have evacuated… We asked them if we should evacuate and they told us it wasn't yet, it wasn't bad enough.

“And when it was bad enough, it was too late – unless you had four-wheel drive.”

Ingram told the Knoxville News Sentinel that he and 10 other employees later tried to take refuge in an open truck. Debris struck the truck, causing two people to fall into the water and ultimately causing the truck to overturn.

Fernando Ruiz told NBC News he spoke to his mother while she was working while the rain was falling. He said he urged her to leave – but she replied that managers didn't tell them anything as the flooding got worse.

The company denied that managers told employees not to leave.

“When water began covering the parking lot and adjacent access road and the facility lost power, employees were laid off by management so they could return to their homes in time to escape the industrial park,” one said Explanation. “At no time were employees informed that they would be fired if they left the facility. For employees who did not speak English, bilingual employees were among the group of managers who delivered the message.”

The company also said: “While most employees left the company immediately, some remained on or near the premises for unknown reasons.”

The company's founder, Gerald O'Connor, said in a statement: “We are devastated by the tragic loss of great employees. Those missing or deceased and their families are in our thoughts and prayers.”

One of the employees who died was 56-year-old Bertha Mendoza, according to the News Sentinel. She was separated from her sister while trying to stay afloat, a GoFundMe set up by her family said.

NBC News reported that several family members of workers searched for family members on social media and asked authorities for help.

The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) said in a statement it has seen affected people struggle to get help from authorities.

“TIRRC staff stationed in the region experienced community members struggling to access interpreting services from local and state government agencies, as well as requests from authorities for identification and documentation of immigrant community families that hindered their ability to identify missing loved ones.” the group said in a statement.