Victim Dies After Fall 20 Feet Down A Manhole At RivCo Desert Resort

PALM DESERT, CA — A man died after falling 20 feet down a utility vault on the property of a Palm Desert resort, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department said Wednesday.

Medics and rescue crews worked for more than two hours to raise the man to the surface. However, he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Capt. John Clingingsmith of Cal Fire.

The Riverside County Coroner's Office and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were requested to assist at the scene, and the victim's name was being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Shortly before 10:30 a.m., emergency responders rushed into the Marriott's Desert Spring Villas to the 1000 block of Pinehurst Lane, where the victim had fallen. According to Clingingsmith, a resort worker reported the fall.

"Arriving firefighters learned the victim was trapped in the utility vault deep underground," Clingingsmith said.

While testing the air, firefighters measured enough hydrogen sulfide gas, or sewer gas present to require rescue crews to descend into the vault wearing masks. Crews retrieved the victim's body roughly two hours later.

The Riverside County Coroner's Bureau was investigating what led to the man's fall and death, with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which was also requested to assist at the scene.