TV tower collapses in southwest, killing worker

FORDLAND, Mo. — A worker has died after a TV tower collapsed near Fordland, Missouri, authorities said, CBS Springfield affiliate KOLR reports. 

Dispatchers said the incident took place just before 10:00 a.m. Thursday. Rob Talburt, assistant fire chief for the Logan-Rogersville Fire Protection District, said six people were working at the time of what he described as an “accident.” They were doing “routine maintenance” and were 105 feet high, Talburt said.

The man who died was among those who were on the tower, said Webster County Sheriff Roye Cole. Three other people were transported to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.

“It’s very lucky that we didn’t have more fatalities,” Talburt said. 

The cause of the incident was not immediately clear. 

In a Facebook post, the U.S. National Weather Service in Springfield, Missouri, said the NOAA weather radio at Fordland is off the air until further notice.