Construction Worker Dies After Falling Into North Austin Manhole

AUSTIN, TX — A construction worker died after falling into a manhole cover filled with moving water in North Austin, officials said Tuesday.

Austin-Travis County EMS reported via Twitter that the incident occurred just before 2:40 p.m. along the 200 block of East Parmer Lane at the intersection with McCallen Pass. Despite medics' attempts to rescue the man, police spokesman Michael Bullock later told reporters, the accident victim's body was found some four hours later at the Walnut Creek Treatment Facility.

It's unclear how far the man was carried away in the sewage water before his death, Bullock said in answering a reporter's question during an evening news conference staged at the water treatment plant. He added police were still attempting to notify his next of kin.

Officer Bullock said Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators would conduct an investigation into the incident. He was unsure why the manhole cover was uncovered at the construction site, saying crews had been working around it before the man fell in.

In an earlier tweet, medics wrote the man "...disappeared from sight of bystanders" before they undertook rescue efforts. But some 30 minutes later, medics reported the mission had transitioned into one of "recovery," the term used by emergency officials denoting an effort to locate a body.

Medics indicated they had taken heightened steps to rescue the person before the determination was made that the person had died, augmenting visual searches with consultations with waterway maps to pinpoint a possible location for the trapped accident victim.

Just before 7:35 p.m., the Austin Police Department confirmed via Twitter the person had died: "Individual who fell into manhole in North Austin has been located deceased," law enforcement officials wrote.

The tweet below from medics reports a rescue operation had transitioned to one of recovery.

Patch will update if further details are shared.

The map below shows the location where the incident occurred.