Contractor Dies in Fall from Iowa TV Tower

A contractor has died after falling from a central Iowa TV tower.

KDSM (Des Moines) confirmed the death at its transmitter site near Alleman in a post on its Facebook page:

KDSM FOX 17 has been made aware of the tragic event that occurred at the tower site where KDSM’s antenna is located. A contractor was working on repairs to KDSM’s antenna when he fell and was fatally injured. At this time, no other details have been made available. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

As previously reported, KDSM has been off the air since last week due to a transmission line problem and the station had said Tuesday that workers were unable to climb the tower that day due to weather conditions.

KCCI-TV quoted a Polk County Sheriff’s lieutenant in reporting that the contractor, who worked for PCI Communications, fell from about of 1,000 feet up the tower.

KDSM is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, while the 2,000-foot tower is owned by American Tower.