Robot grabbed victim, crushed him against a metal plate.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: It may sound more like the introduction to a sci-fi horror flick, but tragedy has struck a Volkswagen plant in Baunatal, Germany, where the automaker says a robot has killed a contractor in an unprecedented accident.
Spokesperson Heiko Hillwig said the 21-year-old was part of a team that was setting up the robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate, according to the Financial Times.
Hillwig also revealed to the Associated Press that initial conclusions indicate that human error was to blame, rather than a problem with the robot.
The victim was the only person in the proximity of the machine; other workers were standing in the outer area. The robot grabbed the man and threw him against a metal slab, during which he suffered a severe blow to the chest. He later died from his injuries at a hospital.
According to data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, robots have caused at least 33 workplace deaths and injuries in the United States in the last 30 years.
A Volkswagen rep told the paper that the robot “was not one of the new generation of lightweight collaborative robots that work side-by-side with workers on the production line and forgo safety cages,” and had no known technical defect.
The factory at Baunatal, 100 kilometers north of Frankfurt, is the second largest for the Volkswagen brand, disclosed RT. It doesn’t make vehicles, but assembles components for other plants.