Alkaline Chemical Burns – Cause of Death for 11 in Nippon Tragedy

CAUSE OF DEATH REVEALED FOR 11 NIPPON VICTIMS:

The cause of death has been confirmed, for all 11 victims in the Nippon tragedy, to be alkaline chemical burns.

This afternoon, the Cowlitz County Coroner’s Office confirmed this cause of death for 10 of the victims – Gilbert Bernal, Tyler Covington, Brad Covington, Robert Wilson, Dale Miller, Jared Ammons, Braydon Finkas, Clinton (CJ) Doran, John Forsberg and Norman Barlow.
The Coroner’s office also listed “asphyxia due to aspiration of a foreign object” to be a factor in the death of Braydon Finkas.

An 11th victim, Dillon Miller, was taken to a hospital in Portland from the scene where he later died. The Multnomah County Medical Examiner determined his cause of death to also be alkaline chemical burns.

The investigation into the cause of the tank failure is ongoing.