Body of Diver Killed In Braintree Water Tower Recovered

Originally published Dec. 15, 2016

BRAINTREE, MA — The death of a worker inside a water town in Braintree was an accident, Braintree Mayor Joseph Sullivan said.

Sullivan confirmed Thursday that one of the workers that was in the tower has died, with emergency workers conducting a recovery mission for the second person. Another worker on top of the tower was taken to a nearby hospital with hypothermia, but is expected to survive.

Sullivan said the two were not town employees but were conducting a state-mandated inspection of the tower for the town.

"It was an accident that took place today. Unfortunately, an individual did pass away. Another was rescued by our Braintree Fire Department in a very heroic effort," Sullivan said. "None of this activity should be considered routine and today we learned how difficult it is."

At about 10 a.m. Thursday morning, Braintree fire received a report of two people, a diver and a spotter, who were in the Lincoln Street water tower and needed help. The Norfolk Country Tactical Rescue Team was requested, with emergency crews saving one person.

The water tank will be drained into a nearby fire hydrant in an effort to find the second victim, Braintree Fire Chief James O'Brien said. The process to drain a million gallons of water took 12-14 hours and and is expected to take five days to refill. The draining and refilling will not effect the town's water supply. The body of the victim was recovered overnight.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating what went wrong but town officials believe an equipment failure caused the incident. O'Brien said the diver communicated to the spotter that he was losing air. At that point, 911 was called and the spotter went into the tower to save the diver.

Due to the frigid weather conditions, O'Brien said the spotter was numb, cold, and had no strength when they saved him. The spotter was in the tower for only a few minutes and O'Brien said he is unsure how deep the person went.

The diver was identified as David Scott of Texas.

Images via Dan Libon