Worker hit by pipe dies at South MS company with history of safety issues
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Coroner identified 37-year-old Narlon Benetiz Salgado; crushed by pipes.
- Incident occurred at Port Bienville facility linked to past safety violations.
- Company faced a fatal pipe rollover last year; investigation and updates pending.
A Jindal Tubular USA employee died last weekend after he was caught between two large pipes at the facility in Hancock County, which has a history of safety violations, authorities said.
Hancock County Coroner Jeff Hair was called at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday to the facility at Port Bienville. He identified the victim on Thursday as Narlon Benetiz Salgado, 37, of Honduras.
Salgado died of blunt force trauma from the impact of the pipes, the coroner said. He had no local family members, according to authorities.
Jindal Tubular representatives did not immediately return messages Thursday afternoon. The company employs more than 400 people to make large steel pipes and has been a tenant of the Hancock County Port and Harbor Commission since 2014. Jindal Tubular’s website says the company “provides all necessary training and resources to ensure a safe place to work and a safe system of work.”
Hancock County Sheriff Ricky Adam said Thursday that he knew few details about the incident except that local authorities responded to the scene and that the death would be investigated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
An OSHA spokesperson said the investigation could take up to six months.
Salgado’s death was the latest at the company’s plant in Hancock County. Jindal Tubular agreed last year to enact new safety rules and pay thousands in penalties after a federal investigation into a pipe accident that killed another employee.
The employee, 25-year-old Tyde Woody of Diamondhead, died in January 2024 after a 2,000 pound pipe fell onto him and another worker. That worker survived but suffered pelvic and spinal fractures and had both legs amputated.
The Department of Labor later said investigators examining what led to that tragedy found a “long history of safety failures,” including that Jindal Tubular “had not established safe practices for storing and stacking pipes.”
In response, Jindal Tubular agreed last November to pay more than $440,000 in penalties. The Department of Labor also ordered the company to hire a third-party consultant to create a safety and health program, report all work related injuries and illnesses quarterly to OSHA for three years and let OSHA inspect immediately if any employee gets hurt, among other safety measures.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
This story was originally published November 20, 2025 at 3:28 PM.