Construction worker trapped when trench collapsed
Rescue crews were called to the scene of a construction accident where a private contractor was trapped in a trench that collapsed on him and kept him pinned up to his chest for almost three hours in sand, gravel, and broken up road bed.
The construction worker was immediately rushed to the hospital after he was freed after crews spent almost 30 minutes to secure the trench, ensuring it didn’t cave in any further.
“Just been buried up to his chest. He had some asphalt that had fallen on to his shoulder as the chief mentioned and so they had to clear all the asphalt away then try to dig him out. Their initial thought they could dig him out and then they called the station right away,” said Police Department Chief Paul Nikas.
Co-workers finally dug construction worker from collapsed trench
Police officers and the man’s coworkers jumped in in a desperate attempt to try to free the trapped man. After the officers and coworkers were able to dig the man out to his waist, first firefighters on the scene grabbed boards they could find around the site in an attempt to shore up the collapsing trench while they dug the man out.
“He was in a lot of pain. One of his legs was wrapped around a gas main. Definitely lower leg issues, probably a broken leg, broken ankle and a shoulder injury,” said Police Department Chief Jack Parow.
Rescuers were able to strap the man to a board, finally lifting him out of the hole. He was immediately rushed to the hospital via helicopter.
State and federal workplace inspectors will investigate to try to figure out what caused the cave in at the sewer project for a local housing development that is under construction. They’ll try to figure out the reason the walls collapsed and whether or not the man was inside or outside of the trench when the cave in occurred.
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