A city employee of Shreveport, La., died after falling into an open wastewater treatment container at Lucas Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The incident occurred when 47-year-old Pastor Douglas was standing on a 15-foot-deep container about to clear foam from the top of an open-air container with a high-pressure hose. According to The Times, another employee left to turn on the pressure hose and when he returned, Douglas was no longer standing on the container.
The Shreveport Fire Department was notified at 1:02 pm and emergency crews arrived a few minutes later.
Rescue workers pulled Douglas out of the biodegradable sewage and sludge container with pike polls. The Times estimates that Douglas was under water for about eight to 15 minutes. He had no pulse when retrieved from the water.
Douglas never regained a pulse and was pronounced dead at 1:55. The body will be sent to Little Rock, Ark., for an autopsy to determine how he fell into the container.
The accident is currently being investigated by city, state and federal authorities.
Source: The Times