1:40 PM UPDATE:
Assistant Fire Chief Tony Perez with the Corpus Christi Fire Department told KRIS 6 News that at approximately 11:30 a.m., emergency crews responded to a report of a possible electrocution of a utility worker in the 600 block of Mestina Street near the Corpus Christi Cathedral.
When first responders arrived, they determined the situation required a technical rescue operation.
Power to the area was shut off so that rescue personnel could go into the manhole. Once inside, crews found the utility worker who was already deceased.
They safely removed the worker from the manhole.
The official cause of death has not been determined. The Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office was on the scene and will continue the investigation into the worker's death.
Power remains out in a small portion of downtown and there's no word when power will be restored.
No additional injuries were reported. The identity of the worker is being withheld pending next of kin notification.
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ORIGINAL:
Rescue teams are working to pull a worker trapped in a manhole in Downtown Corpus Christi.
Crews shut down Mestina Street near North Upper Broadway next to the Corpus Christi Cathedral on Tuesday afternoon.
Assistant Fire Chief Tony Perez tells KRIS 6 News the fire department was dispatched to a confinement call, but not much information was available.
Nearby business owners have told our crew that power is also out in the area.
It's unclear whether the outage is related to the rescue, but we've contacted AEP for more information.
Meanwhile, police are asking onlookers who have gathered at the scene to move away from the area.
Here's a look at the power outages reported in and around Downtown Corpus Christi as of 1p.m. Tuesday.
This is a developing story. We will update this article as soon as more information becomes available.
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