Iowa Crews Rescue Construction Worker Buried Alive
ANKENY, Iowa --
Rescue crews were able to free a man buried alive when a trench collapsed in Ankeny on Thursday morning.
The accident happened around 11:45 a.m. near 909 Northeast Chambers Pkwy. The man was freed at 12:56 p.m.
The construction worker was laying pipes for a new home when the deep trench he was working in collapsed on top of him.
The man was completely trapped under dirt, but workers could still hear him screaming. Workers were able to hand dig his face free, but he was still buried from the neck down when rescue crews arrived and struggling to breathe.
"When we arrived the patient was not visible, but he was talking. We could hear him at the bottom of the trench," said Deputy Chief Rob Chiappano.
The deep and unstable trench posed a threat for rescue crews.
Rescuers said the dig was made even more difficult than normal because all of the recent rain made the mud heavier than normal. A special truck used to clean parking lots was brought to the scene to help suck up some of the dirt.
"As soon as I saw that he had people in the hole, co-workers trying to clear his face and had done so I made the decision to go ahead and start laying sheets of plywood to distribute weight and minimize the risk of collapse," said Chiappano.
For close to an hour, dozens of rescue workers tried to stabilize the trench area and the construction worker. They used the materials at the construction site to essentially make a box shore around the victim.
"We were able to extract the patient. Mercy helicopter was on standby. As soon as we got him out of the hole, he was loaded into Mercy and airlifted out," said Chiappano.
The man's name and condition are not yet available.
Jeremy Hensley was working at a construction site across the street from where the trench collapsed. Hensley and his co-workers ran over and tried to help.
"Just tried to get the pressure off his chest and back so he can breathe," said Hensley. "We had a couple of guys jump down in the ditch right there and I kind of just scooped out as much as I could around his mouth and around his head," said Hensley.
Hensley said he knows just how dangerous working in a trench can be. He does the same type of construction work.
"I feel good. I hope he has a good recovery. I hope everything goes good for him. I'm just glad everybody made it out alright," said Hensley.
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