ASHEBORO, N.C. (ACME NEWS) — The North Carolina Zoo closed early Thursday after an arborist died in a fall during a rescue drill.
The worker fell 20 to 30 feet from a tree at roughly 8 a.m., before the park had opened to visitors, and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the state Department of Labor. The drill took place in the zoo’s Africa exhibit and did not involve any animals.
Zoo officials identified the employee Friday as Branson Joe Langley, 38, a 10-year member of the zoo’s staff. Langley was a 2000 graduate of Eastern Randolph High School according to an online obituary.
The rescue drill was simulating rescuing a second arborist who was role-playing an injured worker stuck suspended in the tree. Zoo officials said Langley was performing the rescue when he fell.
Zoo director Pat Simmons addressed staff and media Thursday, calling it a devastating loss for the zoo community and describing Langley as one of their own. The zoo initially withheld the employee’s name at the family’s request while relatives were notified.
The zoo shut down its Africa section immediately after the accident and closed the rest of the park to visitors at 2 p.m. The park reopened for regular hours Friday.
The Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina Department of Labor and the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Division opened investigations into the accident. A zoo spokesman said the facility was cooperating fully with investigators and could not comment further on details of an ongoing inquiry.
The North Carolina Zoological Society announced Friday it had established a trust fund — later known as the Maggie Fund — to support Langley’s 9-year-old daughter, Maggie.
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