Fatal accident at Subaru's Yajima plant prompts halt in production across multiple factories

Modern car factories depend substantially on automated procedures. Even though employment in this sector can never be entirely safe, companies strive as much as possible to mitigate the hidden risks associated with working on production lines.

Regrettably, safety measures, health and safety practices, and in-house regulations are not always able to prevent all potential incidents. An example of this is the incident that took place on the morning of 13th February at the Subaru factory in Ota, in the Gunma Prefecture, Japan.

Reports from various media outlets in Japan and globally, including "Automotive News Europe" and "Automobilwoche," only surfaced on 19th February, 6 days after the accident's actual occurrence.

A 60-year-old employee from the Yajima factory was operating a remote-controlled crane tasked with lifting and relocating moulds weighing around 24,950 kg. Regrettably, one of them fell directly onto the operator, who, tragically, had no chance of survival. Post-mortem results showed that the man died due to suffocation.

The employee had a 35-year tenure and was an experienced plant worker who wasn't new to operating this type of crane. However, the cause of the heartbreaking accident hasn't been established yet. Ota police are currently undertaking an investigation. A spokesperson for Subaru declined to comment on the situation.

The Japanese auto manufacturer decided to cease productivity at three of its factories within the country. As a result, the production of nearly all Subaru models was halted: Outback, Forester, Crosstek, WRX, and BRZ, among others. The engine and transmission factory in Oizumi is also temporarily not operational. It remains unclear when Subaru will return to normal functioning.