LOS ANGELES-- A Los Angeles Zoo employee was injured Thursday after falling into the zoo's gorilla enclosure, authorities said.

Fire crews responded to the park at 5333 West Zoo Drive around 8:30 a.m., according to LAFD spokesperson Margaret Stewart, reports CBS Los Angeles.

The zoo was closed when the worker fell.

The worker was strapped to a backboard and lifted about 15 feet from a planted moat. The patient was taken to an ambulance and transported in fair condition.

While the height of the enclosure was unknown, Stewart said the rescue was considered a "long fall" of at least 20 feet or more.

The animals were secured, and the man was carried from the location after about a half hour.

He was taken to a hospital in fair condition for treatment of a possible broken leg, Stewart said.

The exhibit is home to Western Lowland Gorillas.