The 11 employees killed in a catastrophic chemical tank rupture at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility in Longview, Washington, on May 26, 2026, all died from chemical burns, officials announced Thursday.

The Cowlitz County Coroner's Office, which conducted autopsies for 10 of the victims, ruled the manner of death for all 11 individuals as accidental. The incident occurred at a facility located approximately 50 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon.

Eight of the deceased suffered alkaline chemical burns, according to the coroner's office. The victims were identified as Jared Ammons, 35; Norman Barlow, 58; Gilberto Bernal, 52; Bradley Covington, 27; Tyler Covington, 29; Clinton Doran, 26; John Forsberg, 51; and Dale Miller, 54. Robert Wilson, 48, died from a combination of alkaline chemical burns and blunt force injuries, while Braydon Finkas, 38, succumbed to alkaline chemical burns and asphyxia from aspirating a foreign object.

A 27-year-old victim, Dillon Miller, was transported to a hospital in Portland, where he died from his injuries. The Multnomah County Medical Examiner confirmed his cause of death was due to sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide burns, consistent with the findings for the other victims. The tank that failed contained white liquor, a chemical mixture essential for paper production, composed of sodium hydroxide, sodium sulfide, and disodium carbonate.

The 900,000-gallon tank was approximately two-thirds full when it catastrophically failed, described by authorities as a blast that significantly damaged the facility. The rupture released the hazardous chemicals, leading to the deaths and serious injuries of multiple other employees.

Cowlitz County Coroner Dana Tucker described the incident as one of the most significant tragedies the community has faced since the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. State and federal agencies are currently investigating the precise cause of the tank failure and the circumstances surrounding the event.

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has launched its own probe, which will focus on identifying any potential workplace safety violations. This investigation is expected to take approximately six months to complete, with the goal of preventing similar incidents in the future.

Authorities have not yet released details regarding the timeline of the investigations or potential findings, leaving lingering questions about the specific factors that led to the tank's failure and the subsequent loss of life.