BLAIR, Wis. – A diver in scuba gear and an insulated rubber suit died deep inside the Blair municipal water tank while suctioning muck from the bottom. Tentatively the death was attributed to hypothermia, The day was cold, in the 30s. The name of the man was not released by Trempealeau County Sheriff Brett Semingson. The man was believed to be part of a team contracted by the city for periodic water system maintenance. Fellow workers said the man became stuck around 5:15 p.m. while cleaning sediment with a 90-foot suction tube. He had been in the tank about 45 minutes and reported being cold but kept working. The coworkers suspected he entered a hypothermic state and lost hand mobility and strength. The coworkers were unable to get the man out because he was tangled in the suction tube. First-responders pulled the man from six feet of water. He was pronounced dead.
Hilltop tank. South of Blair above the high school on Elland Road. These metal municipal tanks for towns like Blair, population 1,300. typically have a 100,000-gallon capacity. Image: Steve Lunde