By Bob Warren, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune: on March 14, 2013
A worker was killed at the Motiva Refinery in Norco Wednesday when two large cylinders fell on him, authorities and a company official said. Michael Louque, 56, of Grammercy, was pronounced dead at St. Charles Parish Hospital in Luling, the St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office said.
The Sheriff’s Office said Louque, who worked for River Parish Maintenance, was loading the equipment onto a flatbed truck when the load shifted and the pumps fell on him. The Sheriff’s Office initially said he was loading pumps, but Roger Landry, president of River Parish Maintenance, said it was actually 16-foot-long cylinders that weigh more than 1,000 pounds.
The Sheriff’s Office said the incident is under investigation.
Landry said Louque had worked for the company for more than 32 years. “This is the worst thing we’ve ever gone through,” Landry said, describing the accident and the loss of a longtime worker.
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