A Dow Chemical employee  died on Thursday after falling inside the company's Midland, Michigan manufacturing complex, Dow said in a statement.

Dow, the largest chemical maker in the United States, declined to release the man's name until his family could be notified. The last fatality at Dow's Michigan manufacturing complex was in 1998.

"We are greatly saddened by the passing of one of our own," said Earl Shipp, vice president of Dow's Michigan Operations. "This is an extremely difficult time for us, and our deepest sympathies, prayers and support go out to the family and friends."

Dow said the worker fell from an "elevated location," but the Midland Daily News reported that he fell 30 feet from a catwalk, citing information from police scanners.

Another local newspaper, the Bay City Times, reported that Michigan's Occupational Safety and Health Administration had begun an investigation into the death.