Man Falls to Death into Vat of Chocolate

29-year-old Hit by Mixing Blade Falls into 8-Foot Vat of Boiling Chocolate

(CBS/AP)  Authorities say a man has died after falling into a vat of melted chocolate in a New Jersey processing plant.

A spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office says the 29-year-old temporary worker at Cocoa Services Inc. plant fell after a blade used to mix raw chocolate hit him. The man's name has not been released.

The accident happened around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday as the worker was loading raw chocolate into the vat where it's melted and mixed before being shipped elsewhere to be made into candy products.

The victim was said to have been trapped in the vat for nearly 10 minutes before being freed, reports CBS station KYW. Officials said a preliminary investigation has revealed that the worker may have suffered a head injury while inside the vat.

Prosecutor's spokesman Jason Laughlin says a co-worker tried to shut off the machine and two others tried to pull the man out of the 8-foot deep vat.

Cocoa Services hires a second company - Lyons and Sons - to do the mixing.

[Laubri651]

Hello everyone...i justed wanted to thank the nice people who had something nice to say about my cousin my family is greatful...and for those who are rude i hope u go right to hell Toldyous029 Mooksie1, Sheba082 and nopucker guess wat ur the nut. my cousin vince was a nice, caring, and educated person. he was the best cousin, son, and newphew that ever was on this earth. Try reading the papers sometimes to find out what happen and how did he fall in the vat. because if it was you people would be talking bad about you just like u are doing ,my cousin.

[lparsley64]

I cannot believe that anyone makes fun of another human being who dies, especially so painfully and tragically. How sick. How just plain mean.

[freedemm]

If you find a button in your Choclate bar please return it to the family of the deceased

[Laubri651]

and i hope u go right to hell

[sheba082]

I am sorry it was man who fell in. Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't.

[mooksie1]

I guess many would like to pass on in a vat of chocolate.

[wooot1]

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[toldyouso29]

--how does a blade hit a person who is pouring chocolate in? Aren't the blades in the vat? How could the blade have reached the man on a walkway and batted him in? Is everyone sure he was not pushed? OSHA--check this out.

And also...please account for all ingredients used to compound that particular batch of chocolate--we want to make sure it got destroyed or removed for investigation and to be destroyed later--we don't need shades of Willy Wonka Augustus Gloop in our chocolate.

[nopucker]

I wonder if he crapped his pants? No one would ever know...

[toldyouso29]

They'd know. Crap may be brown like chocolate--but it certainly would not smell like chocolate.

[Laubri651]

if he did i want to throw it on u..nasty hope my cousin hunts ur dumb behind u a hole

[Morton_U_Kanandel]

While this is obviously a tragedy and I don't mean to demean it, it also was the premise of a comedy sketch at The Second City in Chicago over 40 years ago. Mourners at a funeral tried to keep a straight face while hearing the details of the death of a man who fell into a vat of chocolate. The idea was later recycled on the Mary Tyler Moore show in an episode about Chuckles the Clown. "A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants." Truth stranger than fiction?

[lovethenews]

You people are stupid. This man was somebody's son, father, brother or husband. Have a little respect. My sympathies go out to the family and friends, I am sorry for your loss.

[darthcheney345]

My sympathies go out to the family and friends
------------
Really? Then make sure you put on enough postage to mail your sympathies to Mexico, Guatemala, Taiwan, or Vietnam.

Because probably that's where he got into the shipping container he was smuggled into the country in.

[southofyou]

Have we become so desynthesized to death that we find this funny? This young man was someone?s son. Dying on earth is different than it is in a video game or on TV. People who are left behind grieve. Please be respectful of his family.

[darthcheney345]

He was a lousy temp worker who took a job away from someone who used to have a full-time job with benefits. What about THAT guy's family? He's the one I feel sorry for.

At least half the people in the factory are illegal workers or they're there on H1b visas, and they don't speak English.

The whole idea of a totally untrained temp worker getting hit in the head by a chocolate mixer and falling into the vat is just so typical of what's wrong with our fouled up economy today. They'd rather see somebody die in a vat of chocolate than pay a permanent full-time worker a decent wage and benefits.

Why is that funny? Because there's not a d@*n thing we can do about it, and until evey single temp worker, illegal worker, and H1b visa worker falls into a vat and dies, our economy is going down the toilet because nobody has a decent job anymore.

And then along comes Madoff and steals everybody's money, and neither Democrat nor Republican administration can catch him.

[stickdog3]

Lighten up darthcheney345 southofyou has a point. I don't much care for illegals myself, but, I wouldn't want anyone taken out like this guy. History has shown all those workers that were displaced will find their way, and their calling.
To you other bloggers, show a little class.

[exdcx]

Have some of you people no compassion for this man and his family? What if he was one of your loved ones? Someone loved this man,why do you not show some common decency?

[toldyouso29]

cry us a river this is not a eulogy board it is a blog. People write what they please--and if they steer clear of curse words and threats, CBS will probably print it--we don't like blog police--it is bad enough that CBS has to censor us--but most people ignore posters who think they have been elected blog monitors. if the family does not like the posts--they should not be reading the blog--like bad tv and books--avoid what you do not want to read or watch.

[rushlimpdrug]

Think I'll stick to donuts.

Mmmmm donuts.

I feel like slowly sinking into a vat of donuts.

Wonder if I'd float in it.

At 4'-2" and 537 lbs. I think I would float.

[toldyouso29]

donuts are usually FRIED in a vat of boiling oil...good luck with that. LOL

[sugarchef]

I am surprised that the subheading describes the chocolate as 'boiling'. Chocolate starts to melt around 90F, and is usually melted to around 120F during the tempering process - hot enough that you don't want to fall into it (hot tubs are around 106 to 108F), but not boiling by any means. If chocolate is heated above about 150F, it will scorch. Still far from boiling. Calling the chocolate boiling certainly makes a more dramatic story, but shame on CBS for resorting to inaccurate reporting just for drama. Do your research before you do your reporting.

[toldyouso29]

People subjected to water at the pools in Yellowstone died after temps of 120 degrees which is enough to give 3rd degree burns. One does not have to approach 212 degrees to burn to death.

[dblbar1]

I hope his family isn't reading this board.......my condolences.

[sripton]

All these comments about how insensitive we are, and just think of the wife; now she has to go out and find a nice wrapper "ERRR" coffin for him So Sad

[garyl615]

There sure are some sick shiits on here. The temp probably never got adequate training. As you all know there is no training anymore.

[rushlimpdrug]

- Now, two great tastes in one bar
- Chocolate on the outside
- Crunchy human on the inside ! !
- The new Reese's pieces
- Now with real pieces!

[jwesel1]

He died doing what he liked most

[midnightrider321a]

It kind of gives a whole new meaning to Death By Chocolate.