One of two killed in Longview industrial implosion identified

Gilbert Bernal is the first worker identified among those killed in the major industrial incident at a Longview pulp and paper mill Tuesday morning.

Officials confirmed two workers were killed after an implosion was reported at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging facility. Nine were injured and nine others remain missing, but officials say they have "no belief that there's rescues that need to be made."

Geovanna Bernal-Ferguson, who identified Gilbert Bernal as her father on Facebook, said in a social media post that Bernal was "the most selfless person I knew and would help anyone in need and volunteer his time fixing anything."

Bernal "always worked hard to provide for our family," his daughter said. "He not only worked full time but went to school while my brother and I were little so he could provide a better life for us."

"He loved my son so much and would always talk about the things they were going to do together," Bernal-Ferguson said. "My heart is shattered knowing that their time was cut short but my son will always know how incredible his grandpa was."

Todd Cornwell said Bernal, his friend, was an electrician at the plant and was the first confirmed death to The Associated Press. They knew each other through church and were in the same Bible study group, he said.

"We actually had our group last night and instead of doing Bible study, we talked about him," Cornwell told The AP. "He was always there willing to help in whatever needed to be done. When the local church school started flooding, he was one of the people there."

Cornwell set up a GoFundMe for Bernal's family, writing that his friend was "one of the best people I have ever met. He was a Godly man in every sense of the word."

Correction: The original headline of this story incorrectly identified the incident as an explosion. The story has been updated.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 11:43 PM.