1 Killed, 1 Hurt In Porter Construction Tragedy

PORTER, TX -- Officials in Montgomery County are investigating a construction accident where part of a water tower collapsed, killing one construction worker and injured another Friday morning.

Firefighters were called out to the scene at Water Well Road and Loop 494 at about 7:20 a.m. for a high angle rescue.

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When they arrived, firefighters found four people trapped in the water tower about 150 in the air, Assistant Chief Lee Pampella said.

@mctxsheriff and Fire/EMS are on the scene of an industrial accident in Porter TX. Constructions crews assembling a water well when piece of side wall broke free and landed on the crew inside the well. 2 employees not injured, 1 seriously injured and 1 male is deceased. pic.twitter.com/EVHuw8VgiP
— MCTXSheriff (@MCTXSheriff) July" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/MCTXSherif... 6, 2018

Pampella said one of those was injured and another deceased when they arrived.

Richard Tramm, general manager of the Porter Special Utility District, said they were alerted to banging and loud clanging from the tower at about 7:15 a.m., and immediately called the Porter Fire Department.

"We are just completely devastated," he said.

Construction crews were in the process of erecting a 500,000 gallon water tower at the site when the accident occurred.

Officials said they crews were lifting a piece of metal to assemble the tank, when the metal fell on two of the workers.

"We heard the noise, but we didn't witness the actual event," Tramm added.

The two others who were in the tower were uninjured.

The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Image: Shutterstock

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