[VIDEO] Construction Worker Trapped in Collapsed Trench Rescued by Firefighters

via Facebook

via Facebook

Trenches are dangerous, but many companies and workers continue to deny it.  Or their actions make it seem like they do, at least. There’s never an excuse to let someone into a hole if it hasn’t been properly sloped, benched, or shored.  Nevertheless, dozens of construction workers are killed and injured by trench collapses every year.

Last week, In Warren, Michigan, a 37 year old construction worker entered a trench towards the end of his shift in order to make a repair, according to WDIV Local News Detroit. Shortly after jumping down, without having the “proper equipment,” he found himself stuck in the hole and the walls then collapsed around him. The man was still able to breath, at that point, as he was only partially buried, but still unable to free himself.

WDIV reported that when emergency crews arrived on-site, another wall of the trench collapsed, which completely covered the man.  The crews were able to give the man an oxygen mask and hook him up to an IV as they worked on shoring up the walls to start removing the dirt.  In total, the rescue took around two hours and the man was then transferred to the hospital.  His current condition is unknown and officials told WDIV that there’s a possibility he could lose some limbs, because of the weight of the soil cutting off blood circulation for so long.

WDIV filmed the final hour of the rescue, which you can watch via their Facebook page below.  The man was pulled out of the trench around the 50-minute mark.

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