Man trying to cross a low-head dam near Lake Worth drowns

Divers pulled the body of a 19-year-old man from the Trinity River near Lake Worth Wednesday afternoon after he fell into the water while walking across a “low-head dam,” according to a Fort Worth fire department news release.

Seven fire rescue units and two dive teams responded to a call about 2 p.m. about a possible drowning in the 2400 block of Roberts Cut Off Road. Divers found the body about an hour later.

He had not been identified by late Wednesday.

Witnesses said the man was trying to walk across the low-head dam near an area where other people were gathered.

“Due to persistent rains, the water flowing over the dam has greatly increased in recent days,” Lt. Gregg Russell, a fire department spokesman, said. “At the point where the teen was lost over the dam, the water flow was at minimum two feet, or about knee high. Divers had to employ additional safety measures due to the swift water.”

Low-head dams and the churning backwash they generate “appear harmless but are deceptively dangerous and should be avoided,” Russell said.

This story was originally published May 4, 2016 at 2:42 PM with the headline "Man trying to cross a low-head dam near Lake Worth drowns."