Man Drowns at Johnson County Gas Well Site

JOHNSON COUNTY -- A 25-year-old man drowned Friday while he was helping relocate a pump at a water storage pond near County Road 920.

Authorities responded to the drowning call about 12:30 p.m., a news release from the Johnson County sheriff's department said.

Workers near a gas-well site were swimming in the water storage pond with a water pump in an attempt to move it, but decided they would have to move the pump another way. The man was swimming with two other workers when he started gasping for air and sinking, a news release said. The pond is about 15-feet deep with an acre of surface area. The employees and their supervisor started searching for the man and called emergency workers, the release said.

The man, who has not been identified, was found about 45 minutes after disappearing underwater, the release said.