Electrician dies at NIH campus after plunging through grate

An electrician working at the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Maryland, died Wednesday after falling through a storm grate.

Akwasi Addae, 45, went through the grate at around 12:15 p.m. The NIH police and fire departments responded following reports that someone was suffering from cardiac arrest, the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service told local ABC affiliate WJLA-TV.

Mr. Addae was working on a building exterior when he fell through the grate into a vault area 7 feet wide and 30 feet deep, according to CBS station WUSA.

“We are deeply saddened to share that Akwasi Addae … died while conducting repair work on the exterior of a building on the NIH Bethesda campus after falling into an air handling intake shaft. We have notified the family and have offered condolences and support,” an NIH spokesperson said in a statement to WUSA-TV.

Mr. Addae was pronounced dead at the scene.

The fatal fall was reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which will investigate the incident.