Emergency crews were successfully able to free a man from a collapsed trench at an east Edmonton construction site late Thursday afternoon.
A spokesperson for Edmonton Fire Rescue Services said seven crews, including a technical rescue crew, were called to the scene at 43 Street and 104 Avenue at about 2:50 p.m.
The man was still responsive shortly before 4 p.m. and crews were working to pull him out.
Watch below: Aerial video taken by the Global One News Helicopter in east Edmonton on Thursday shows emergency crews rescuing a man trapped after a trench collapsed at a construction site.
Excavation director sentenced to jail time for fatal Edmonton trench collapseDuring the rescue, district chief Todd Weiss said the victim had “a good pulse and good blood pressure” and was talking with rescuers, as his head was fortunately above ground.
Rescuers stabilized the hole where the patient was buried up to the top of the shoulders. Weiss noted the patient had “discomfort in his legs” but “was doing quite well under the circumstances.”
Weiss said he believed the man who was trapped was one of several workers doing sewer repairs. He said he was buried in dirt when the trench collapsed.
“He’s lucky that his head wasn’t buried and that he’s able to breathe and talk to us,” he added.
Shortly before 6 p.m., rescue workers could be seen lifting the man out of a hole on a ladder before he was put into an ambulance.
Global News has reached out to Alberta Occupational Health and Safety to ask if they will be investigating the incident.
More to come…
-With files from Global News’ Sarah Kraus
View photos of the rescue scene below:
A technical rescue crew was among emergency workers called to the scene of a trench collapse in east Edmonton on Thursday.
Global 1 News Helicopter
A technical rescue crew was among emergency workers called to the scene of a trench collapse in east Edmonton on Thursday.
Global 1 News Helicopter