An employee died on the job Wednesday morning at the Madras location of Bright Wood Corp., which manufactures wood products, according to Dallas Stovall, longtime president of the corporation.

The accident happened around 9 a.m. in one of the millwork company’s plants, and employees were sent home for the day, Stovall said.

The deceased employee’s identity has not been disclosed, and neither has the cause of death. Madras Police Chief Tim Plummer declined to comment for this story.

Bright Wood confirmed the death Thursday and said grief counselors were on site that day for employees.

The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division is investigating the death, as is standard procedure with workplace fatalities, a Thursday press release from Bright Wood said.

“Bright Wood’s plants are tight-knit communities, and yesterday, we lost a cherished family member, coworker and friend,” the news release said.

Bright Wood is one of the largest employers in Central Oregon with roughly 1,079 employees, according to an April report.

The last known death at Bright Wood occurred in 2004 when a forklift struck a 29-year-old worker as she was picking up wood debris.