Recovery of workers' bodies in Bromley started with solemn 911 call

When he called 911, he already suspected his co-workers were dead inside a flooded concrete tank in Bromley, Kentucky.

It would take hours to recover their bodies.

Multiple investigations are ongoing after two people,  Mason Nieses and Josh Mason, were killed on a project for Sanitation District No. 1 on Thursday. Another man was hospitalized after the incident.

The Kenton County Communications Center released the dispatch record and the 911 call from that day.

"We need a rescue crew," the man said. He explained that his Building Crafts Inc. co-workers were in a large concrete tank when a plug blew letting water in. "The guys are stuck at the bottom."

The call taker asked if there were any air pockets in the tank.

"No," the caller said.

"Can somebody get a rope to them," the call taker asked.

"No," the man replied. "They're gone."

That call was placed at 11:54 a.m. According to the dispatch report, the first man was recovered from the tank at 6:13 p.m. The second man was recovered at 11:11 p.m.

The project the crews work was an effort to upgrade a wastewater pump station and build a second parallel pump station along with other related improvements.

The project began in 2021 and is expected to cost $24.2 million.

Sanitation District No. 1 did not release any more information about the incident on Tuesday, however, Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors were on the scene in the hours after the tank was flooded.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Recovery of 2 workers' bodies in Bromley started with grave 911 call