NC Firefighters Rescue Worker in Collapsed Trench

June 11, 2019

The construction worker's legs were trapped by the collapsing trench at a site at North Carolina Central University's at O’Kelly–Riddick Stadium on Tuesday morning.

By Simone Jasper and Joe Johnson

Source The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)

Durham, NC, firefighters rescued a construction worker whose legs were trapped by a collapsing trench at North Carolina Central University on Tuesday morning.

A worker trapped in a trench collapse on the N.C. Central University campus Tuesday morning has been taken to the hospital.

Firefighters responded to the construction accident at O’Kelly–Riddick Stadium about 10:30 a.m., reported ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner. The ambulance was seen leaving the area shortly before noon.

One person’s legs were trapped, the Durham Fire Department posted on Twitter.

Construction is among the most dangerous industries in North Carolina. In 2017, 36 private-sector construction workers died in work-related incidents, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was an increase from 30 the prior year, The News & Observer reported in January after a worker died when a trench collapsed at an apartment construction site in north Raleigh.

Excavating and trenching “are among the most hazardous construction operations,” according to the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration. “Cave-ins pose the greatest risk and are much more likely than other excavation-related accidents to result in worker fatalities,” the administration says on its website.

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