One person is dead, another was injured after falling into a water tower in Lower Providence.
Officials say three subcontractors with Corosion Control out of Pendricktown, New Jersey were working on a water tower on 40 Featherbed Lane when they fell into the tank.The tower is on the property of the Audobon Water Company, according to Lower Providence Township.
Officials confirmed that 31-year-old Jason Schmidt fell to his death. After several hours, his body was removed by the County coroner's office.
Another worker, Miguel Martinez, 38, of Pennsgrove, New Jersey was injured in the accident. He was suspended in mid-air in his safety harness, dangling 40 to 60 feet above. It took rescue workers around three hours to free him.
"The victim was suspended in his work harness which required us to enter into the tank and extricate him," said Chief Bryan McFarland of the Lower Providence Fire Department.
McFarland tells NBC10 the contractor was able to speak as firefighters worked.
“We had to monitor the atmosphere because we weren’t going to send rescuers into an atmosphere that doesn’t support life,” said Chief McFarland. “We were monitoring from the bottom and from the top side with atmospheric measuring equipment.”
McFarland also says the emergency call initially stated industrial equipment had malfunctioned.
