SAN DIEGO—Emergency crews worked for more than five hours on June 28 to free a construction worker who wound up injured and precariously trapped in unstable dirt and debris following a trench collapse at a home-remodel site near La Jolla Shores Beach.
The industrial accident in the 8400 block of El Paseo Grande took place shortly before 8 a.m., according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Firefighters arrived to find the worker conscious, alert, and able to speak but stuck from the waist down in a manner that required extreme care in extricating him, the city agency reported.
More than 40 firefighters and lifeguards took part in the rescue, using airbags, rope systems, and other reinforcing methods to shore up the ground so the man could be removed from the dangerous pit he was in without suffering further injuries, the fire and rescue Deputy Fire Chief Brian Raines told reporters.
“And also in the trench, in addition to the soil, there was a large piece of concrete from the foundation of this home,” Raines said. “So, trench rescues are extremely challenging anyway, and with the additional challenge of a very heavy piece of concrete in the trench that was trapping or pinning him against the wall—that made it especially complicated.”
The man’s evidently non-critical condition made the deliberate pace of the lifesaving operation possible, Raines told news crews.
“Luckily, we knew that he didn’t have ... life-threatening injuries, which gave us a little more time to be able to do it technically, do it safely,” Raines said.
Making use of small excavating rigs already at the project site and employing a tripod lifting mechanism to gingerly ease the man out of the trench, crews were finally able to get him back up to solid ground shortly before 1:30 p.m., the fire department reported.
The extent of the worker’s injuries was not immediately clear. Upon first evaluation following his rescue, the man—believed to be 62 years old—appeared to have a fractured arm, the deputy fire chief said.
“That’s all that’s visible at this point,” Raines added. “But he will be evaluated at a local trauma center for any possible other crush injuries or anything else internal that may have occurred.”
