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Maintenance on a production line ended in death inside a packaging factory in Alto Vale do Itajaí, mobilizing firefighters, Civil Police, and forensics. The case involves an industrial extruder, circumstances still under investigation and information clarified after the response.
A 23-year-old worker died during maintenance on a production line at a packaging factory located on Francisco Klaumann Street, in the community of Santa Tereza, in Aurora, in Alto Vale do Itajaí, around 3 PM on Wednesday (08).
Identified as Wgennyfer Ferreira, the young man was a native of Apicum-Açu, in Maranhão, and had moved to Santa Catarina in search of professional opportunities, leaving behind his wife, family, and friends, according to information released after his identity was confirmed.
Called to respond to an incident involving a person trapped in an industrial machine, the emergency teams found the worker under the equipment and confirmed, still inside the factory, that he was already deceased when help arrived.
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Accident with extruder occurred during maintenance
According to information provided to the Military Fire Brigade on site, Wgennyfer was performing maintenance work on the production line when he was pulled by the mechanism of an extruder, whose operational dynamics during the accident will still be clarified by the authorities.
Recorded on the afternoon of July 8, 2026, the response involved a machine used in the factory’s production process, but there was no disclosure about the equipment model, its state of conservation, or the maintenance procedure executed at that time.
After evaluating the victim and confirming the death, the accident area was isolated to allow the preservation of the space and the necessary surveys, avoiding changes that could compromise the technical analysis of the circumstances of the occurrence.
Located on Francisco Klaumann Street, the factory operates in Santa Tereza, a community belonging to the municipality of Aurora, in Alto Vale do Itajaí, a region of Santa Catarina where security and emergency teams were mobilized to respond to the call.
Civil Police and Scientific Police investigate the case
With the confirmed death, the Civil Police and the Scientific Police took over the legal procedures, while the professionals responsible for the forensic examination inspected the environment, the position of the machine, and other elements considered relevant for the reconstruction of the accident.
Based on the traces found, the forensic work should identify the factors related to the activation of the mechanism, although there is still no official conclusion about any technical failure, operational problem, or any other circumstance associated with the worker’s death.
It was also not clarified whether there were other employees near the production line at that time, who requested the service, how much time elapsed until the teams arrived, or if the machine was turned off before the maintenance began.
In addition to the elements collected on site, the investigation may consider reports provided to the authorities, but no results of the forensic examination, witness statements, or information about the opening of other procedures related to the working environment conditions have been disclosed.
23-year-old victim was identified after the accident
In the first information released about the occurrence, the identity of Wgennyfer Ferreira had not yet been revealed, being confirmed later by local reports that informed her Maranhão origin and the move to Santa Catarina in search of work.
After receiving the news, family members posted farewell messages on social media, while a portal from Apicum-Açu also reported the case and paid tribute to the young man born in the municipality located on the western coast of Maranhão.
In one of the statements, a family member wrote that it was hard to believe what happened, while another stated that they had not yet assimilated the loss, without adding details about the accident or Wgennyfer’s professional routine at the company.
Although the available information indicates that the worker received assistance on site, he did not survive, and the times of the wake and burial, nor details about any transfer of the body to his hometown, were disclosed.
Company preferred not to comment on the accident
Contacted after the victim’s identification, the company stated that it preferred not to comment at that moment, out of respect for the family, while the factory’s name remained absent from the published information, despite the disclosure of the address and the production field.
This position updated the initial information that the company had not yet expressed itself, but did not bring clarifications about safety protocols, training, maintenance monitoring, or any internal measures adopted after the accident occurred on the production line.
By the time the consulted information was published, the authorities had not provided a deadline for the completion of forensic examinations, leaving undisclosed the definitive causes of the accident and the circumstances that allowed the worker to be reached by the extruder mechanism.
Under the responsibility of the competent bodies, the case should gather records of the service, traces found in the factory, and other elements necessary for the investigation, while information capable of clarifying how the machine was activated during the maintenance procedure remains pending.
What measures can prevent other workers from being hit by machines during maintenance services on industrial lines?
