FIELD INJURY – Wise County medics wheel a man to a waiting helicopter after he was injured at a natural gas drilling site near just east of Bridgeport on Monday morning. He was struck in the face with high pressure drilling mud and knocked off a ledge. He suffered a broken leg in the fall, according to a witness. Messenger photo by Joe Duty

A man hit in the face by a high-pressure dose of drilling mud had to be flown to a hospital from the scene for his injuries.

The accident occurred at 9 a.m. Monday at a drilling rig located off Cuba Road, about a mile east of Bridgeport.

A contractor on the site said the man appeared to suffer a broken leg after getting knocked off a platform by a stream of mud. Company officials did not release the victim’s name

The injured man appeared in good spirits after his accident, giving a wave and a thumbs up as he was being wheeled to a helicopter that landed in a field next to the drilling site. He was flown by LifeTeam 68 to United Regional Health Care System in Wichita Falls. A witness said the man appeared to suffer a broken leg in the accident and no serious facial injuries.

Residents of a neighborhood located directly in front of the drilling rig were out to watch the excitement near the neighboring rig. It was the second time in a month they’ve seen fire trucks respond to the area. A month ago, before the oilfield workers moved in, a tire fire broke out in a large field littered with mounds of old tires behind the current rig site.

Heather Williams, a resident of Hidden Hollows, said despite the drilling site operating around the clock just a couple hundred feet from her home, she hasn’t noticed it much.

“It’s been pretty quiet,” she said. “They came in a few weeks ago and just started drilling a few days ago.”

A sound wall separates the drilling site from the neighborhood. The site is operated by Aruba Petroleum. The drilling is being done by Itera. Aruba declined to comment on the accident.