RICHMOND, Ind. -- Danny Caldwell, a sanitation worker for the City of Richmond, Indiana, died on Wednesday after falling into a wastewater tank.
According to the city of Richmond, Danny Caldwell was performing regular maintenance on a wastewater clarifier tank when personnel lost contact with him.
Emergency personnel found Caldwell submerged in the tank and first responders recovered his body late Wednesday evening.
Caldwell's cause and manner of death remain under investigation.
"This is a difficult and sad day for Danny's family, friends and co-workers," said Richmond Mayor Dave Snow. "Danny was a hard worker and a friend to many. On behalf of the City of Richmond, I would like to offer the deepest of condolences to Danny's wife, Anita, and his family. He will be missed."
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RICHMOND, Ind. – A Richmond Sanitation Department worker died Wednesday after falling into a wastewater tank and drowning.
According to Richmond’s Kicks96, the incident happened Wednesday evening at the Liberty Avenue plant. The employee went missing and first responders were sent to the plant, including a dive team. By 6 p.m., the operation was deemed a recovery effort.
Kicks 96’s Jeff Lane cited an employee who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The source indicated that the victim fell into the wastewater treatment tank and drowned.
Richmond City Attorney Andrew J. Sickmann confirmed the man’s death and identified the worker as Danny Caldwell. According to a news release, Caldwell was performing regular maintenance on a wastewater clarifier tank. When no one could contact him, emergency responders were called to the scene, where they found Caldwell’s body submerged in the tank.
An autopsy was being conducted in Dayton.
Sickmann said a “thorough investigation” would be conducted into the circumstances surrounding Caldwell’s death. Richmond Mayor Dave Snow released a statement about the case:
“This is a difficult and sad day for Danny’s family, friends, and co-workers. Danny was a hard worker and a friend to many. On behalf of the City of Richmond, I would like to offer the deepest of condolences to Danny’s wife, Anita, and his family. He will be missed.”
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(Richmond, IN)--A Richmond Sanitation Department employee was killed Wednesday afternoon. First responders, including a dive team, were sent to the Liberty Avenue plant after the employee went missing and was thought to have fallen into a wastewater tank. At 6 o’clock Wednesday night, it was being called a recovery effort. The victim’s body was eventually recovered and taken to Dayton for an autopsy. The city has taken the virtually unprecedented step of having the city attorney prepare a press release which provides no details whatsoever of the incident or the identity of the victim, and indicates that no comments will be made.
One city employee, who spoke exclusively with Kicks 96 and The Point News on the condition of anonymity, has provided a few details. That person is indicating that the victim fell through a hole into a wastewater treatment tank and drowned. According to the source, the hole existed because a grate that should have been covering it was not in place. Richmond’s City Attorney has instructed every city employee to remain silent about the incident other than reading the prepared statement.