The local outlet 2KUTV reports that two individuals were recently “killed” at the Northrop Grumman facility in West Valley City, Utah. 

At the time of this writing, the deaths remain a mystery as very few details about them have been released.

What we do know:

According to a Northrop Grumman spokesperson, “two fatalities” took place at the company’s Bacchus facility on the evening of Monday, January 30.

This has been confirmed by the West Valley City Police Department, which has indicated that emergency personnel responded to an incident at the facility at around 6 p.m. on that day.

The emergency personnel arrived at the scene to find two Northrop Grumman employees unconscious, according to the department. Life-saving measures were attempted before transporting the individuals to a nearby hospital. There, the two employees were pronounced dead.

Other than these few facts, not much else is known about the situation.

OSHA is investigating

Neither the authorities nor Northrop Grumman has released any information about what could have caused the deaths.

It may be worth noting KUTV has characterized the deaths as “kill[ings],” and the outlet refers to the two individuals who died as “victims.” But, KUTV doesn’t really provide any information to support the use of these terms.

According to authorities, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) and the West Valley City Police Department are working together to investigate the deaths.

Utah OSHA has explained that its role in the investigation will be not to “investigate the accident or fatality itself” but to “investigate whether there were any violations of adopted safety and health standards.”

“A tragedy”

Northrup Grumman released a statement calling the incident “a tragedy.” The statement reads:

Family members have been notified, and we will be working with our employee assistance program for support and family services. Our employees are our most valued part of our business, and this is a tragedy that affects our entire workforce. We are working with the authorities and an investigation is ongoing.

According to KUTV, “Northrop Grumman is an aerospace and defense technology company with 90,000 employees worldwide.”

The company’s website states that employees “design, develop, build and support some of the world’s most advanced products, from cutting-edge aircraft and next-generation spacecraft to unrivaled cyber security systems and all-seeing radars.”

“Whether it’s making a 200 ton airplane invisible, predicting cyber attacks before they happen or solving the mysteries of the universe, wherever the boundaries of possible are being pushed, Northrop Grumman is there,” the website states.