KNOXVILLE, Tenn. − A group of workers from a plastics factory held onto spools of flexible yellow plastic pipes on the back of a semitruck for several hours, waiting for rescue as the Nolichucky River raged during Tropical Storm Helene on Friday.

Unfortunately, the truck toppled over, and at least seven individuals were carried away by the floodwaters, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, part of the YSL News Network. This incident occurred in Erwin, Tennessee, just one mile away from Unicoi County Hospital, where numerous staff and patients found themselves stranded on the rooftop that same day, requiring dramatic rescues.

One of the factory workers, a woman, has been confirmed dead, as reported by an immigrant advocacy group assisting the families of the employees. Impact Plastics also acknowledged the death of another individual but did not share details.

“We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our dedicated employees,” stated Gerald O’Connor, the founder and CEO, in a statement released Monday, suggesting that the casualty count may exceed what is currently known. “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are missing or have passed away, as well as their families.”

The whereabouts of the missing individuals remain uncertain due to unclear communication from state and local officials, exacerbated by the widespread devastation that knocked out power and disrupted communication systems, complicating efforts to reach unaccounted individuals across the area.

The floods in Erwin, particularly around Riverview Industrial Park, where the Impact Plastics factory is situated, were catastrophic.

The industrial park is located mere feet from the Nolichucky River, which swelled with a volume of water that was nearly double that flowing over Niagara Falls. Only a parking lot and two roads separate Impact Plastics from the river.

Unicoi County Hospital, located just a mile south of Impact Plastics, was the site of a dramatic helicopter rescue that day, where 54 staff members and patients were taken off the roof as the river overflowed.

Erwin is one of many towns in East Tennessee that were inundated following the flooding, which was caused by Hurricane Helene making landfall and unleashing record-breaking rainfall as it moved northward. There have been five confirmed fatalities – three in Unicoi County – in East Tennessee as of Monday, but officials at the federal, state, and local levels anticipate that this number will increase.

Impact Plastics employee recounts: We were told we couldn’t leave

Jacob Ingram, who has been employed at Impact Plastics for nearly eight months as a mold changer, shared that his job requires him to be on his feet throughout the first shift.

As the floodwaters rose outside, managers instructed employees to stay put, urging them instead to move their vehicles away from the water. Ingram relocated his car twice as the water continued to rise.

“They should’ve evacuated as soon as the flash flood warnings were issued and when they saw the parking lot,” Ingram told the News Sentinel, Knox News. “When we moved our cars we should’ve evacuated then … we asked them if we should leave, and they told us not to yet—it wasn’t bad enough.”

“By the time it was clearly dangerous, it was too late unless you had a four-wheel-drive vehicle.”

The company confirmed that six employees and a contractor are missing but denied claims that management forced anyone to continue working as the waters rose. Moreover, they clarified that while most employees departed immediately, some chose to remain on or near the premises, emphasizing that management and supervisors were the last to leave the building.

Desperate employees find refuge on semitruck’s flatbed

Ingram, along with 10 other workers, battled through waist-deep water in the parking lot when a semitruck driver from PolyPipe USA, which operates next door, called over to them and assisted them in climbing onto the back of his open-bed truck, which was loaded with large yellow flexible gas pipes.

This provided them with a temporary escape.

Videos shared by Ingram on Facebook depict dark brown, churning rapids sweeping through the company’s parking lot, lifting vehicles that floated like toys in a bathtub.

In their urgency, the group contacted 911 and were informed that emergency responders would arrive in 15-20 minutes.

However, help was still far off.

“We must have called the police station numerous times,” Ingram recounted. “We spent two to three hours on the back of the trailer … it was chaotic because the hospital was on the verge of collapsing, and I understand that, but they shouldn’t have told us we were on the way.”

As he waited, Ingram reflected on his family, including his 2-year-old daughter and fiancée. He contacted his dad to say how much he loved them.

Into the Water

Out of nowhere, debris struck the truck. The impact caused a woman to tumble into the rushing water, Ingram recounted.

A short time later, another piece of debris crashed into the truck, and another woman fell into the currents, swept away.

A larger piece of debris then hit the truck with a stronger force, causing it to flip. Ingram managed to secure his hands under a plastic band around some yellow pipes.

This action ended up saving his life.

“I wedged my hands in there, and I used all my strength to hang on,” he explained. “I saw those pipes floating downstream, which gave us the idea to hold on.”

Approximately half a mile from the factory, Ingram and four other colleagues found themselves on a pile of debris.

They were safe, but they had no way of knowing it yet.

After about an hour, a Tennessee National Guard rescue helicopter lifted them to safety.

Tragic Loss Among Impact Plastics Employees

Tragically, one employee, Bertha Mendoza, 56, fell off the truck and disappeared into the floodwaters, as told by both Ingram and a representative from the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.

Mendoza got separated from her sister while they were trying to stay afloat, according to a GoFundMe page set up in her memory. Her body was recovered on Sunday, as indicated on the page, but officials have yet to publicly confirm her identity.

In addition, another employee, Rosa Maria Andrade Reynoso, is still unaccounted for. Her husband, Francesco Guerro, informed Knox News via a translator that officials failed to ask families for identifying details, like clothing or tattoos, and didn’t even request photographs at first. (On Monday, Sept. 30, they began asking for pictures.)

Ingram shared with Knox News that Reynoso was among those who joined him on the flatbed.

Reynoso had been communicating with her husband that morning, sending videos of floodwaters reaching her ankles, Guerro said. In one of her final messages, she expressed uncertainty about being able to escape the rising water.

“She told me to take care of the kids,” he recounted.

He attempted to reach her, but by the time he got close to the factory, all the routes were blocked. He tried numerous ways to get to the factory. Meanwhile, helicopters were flying over Erwin to rescue people stranded on top of Unicoi County Hospital, and every time he spotted a helicopter, he held on to hope that she would be aboard one.

“But she never came, she never came,” he said.