A 62-year-old employee was cooked to death at a Southern California seafood plant, US authorities say.

The Whittier Daily News reported Jose Melena was found shortly before 7 am on Thursday at the Bumble Bee Foods plant in Santa Fe Springs.

Spokeswoman for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, Erika Monterroza, said it was unclear how the man ended up inside a cooking device called a “steamer machine.”

The state agency has launched an investigation.

Bumble Bee Foods spokesman Pat Menke expressed condolences to Melena’s family in a written statement.

Menke said operations at the canning facility will be suspended until Monday.