UPDATE: AUG. 16, 2024; 4:11 PM
The Corpus Christi Medical Examiner's Office has identified the woman who was killed after falling into a cooling tower for the air conditioning system at City Hall Friday morning as 33-year-old Ashia I. Lopez.
ORIGINAL: AUG. 16, 2024; 9:41 AM
A woman died after falling into a cooling tower for the air conditioning system at City Hall Friday morning around 7:20 a.m.
A city maintenance employee heard a noise coming from the chiller and discovered the deceased woman inside the unit. City officials say the woman was not a city employee and are trying to determine if the woman may have been living near the vicinity.
City Manager Peter Zanoni says city officials reviewed surveillance footage, and the woman snuck into a gated area at City Hall after an employee was either entering or leaving the location. After entering the gated area, the woman climbed into the large, silver industrial air conditioner after removing a mesh-wired covering.
"We have the police department here, the fire department, our maintenance staff are here as well. So right now, what we know is that a dead body, a female, is at the bottom of a pre-cooling tower here at City Hall that's used to pre-cool the water part of our air conditioning system. So it looks like the lady climbed up, removed a protecting screen, and fell down to the bottom of the pre-cooling tower," said Peter Zanoni.
Zanoni said the first floor of City Hall will remain operative; however, the other floors are beginning to get hot because the cooling system is down due to the investigation.
Investigators are working to determine how the woman was killed, and Zanoni says due to the situation, City Hall employees are encouraged to work from home.
"As a precautionary measure, City Hall employees will be asked to work remotely until further notice. The only exception will be the utility billing offices, which will remain open to the public. However, residents are strongly encouraged to avoid the area and utilize the 311 Call Center or the online platform for utility bill payments and other services," stated city officials in a press release.
The Corpus Christi Fire Department is now working to remove the unknown woman's body from the cooling tower.
