Worker Falls to His Death After Safety Life Snaps

A 30-year-old San Fernando man, clearing brush from a sheer mountain face next to the Pacoima Dam, plunged 400 feet to his death Tuesday when his safety line snapped, authorities said.

Co-workers watched helplessly as the rope holding Mario Sanchez snagged on a sharp rock and broke, sending him hurtling down a steep slope five miles north of San Fernando. Sanchez died instantly, apparently from severe head trauma, sheriff’s deputies said.

Sanchez part of a five-member crew dispatched by the county Public Works Department to clear the mountain of brush in preparation for spraying an embankment with concrete for stabilization. The crew had been working at the dam for about two weeks, a department spokeswoman said.