ODESSA, Texas — Four people are injured after a water tower in Odessa began leaking Thursday.
The tower at 93rd and Rainbow across from Barbara Jordan Elementary started leaking sometime around 3:45 p.m.
According to a spokesperson, there was a failure of a fitting at the base of the tank and a city crew went in to fix it.
"So we had a leak that started at the base of the tank in the piping. So they were working on the piping, the leak there, and then the leak broke loose. The fitting broke loose on them, and that drained the tank," Thomas Kerr, director of public works and utilities, said.
At this time it is not sure if the crew found this failure as a result of the leaking or if it was part of a routine check.
The crew was trapped at the water tower after the fitting broke loose and large amounts of water came out.
The Odessa Fire Department was able to rescue the crew. Four people suffered minor injuries and three were taken to the hospital for observation. One person had to be rescued from inside the tower while the water continued leaking out.
"The water level was waist high with significant current flowing around the base of the tower. We had one individual still inside holding onto a ladder so he was definitely in danger, but he was pulled out using rescue tools as far as ladders, ropes, flotation devices that we carry on our unit," Quentin Dobmeier, OFR battalion chief, said.
To repair the tower it will be drained completely, but the spokesperson said water services should not be interrupted at this time.
"So the tank, we’ve isolated it from the system. Valves are off, and we have a pump station that feeds the tank so the pump station is back up and running and so everyone should be with water," Kerr said.
Crews tell us that the tower can hold one million gallons of water and was about halfway full at the time of the incident. They also believe the water came down on the workers from above.