Edmonton firefighters worked alongside a construction crew Thursday afternoon to rescue a man stuck in a collapsed trench. The rescue effort took about three hours.
Construction workers were excavating sewer lines in an alley near 43rd Street and 104A Avenue when a sudden collapse buried up a man up to his neck.
Fire and technical rescue teams responded at about 2:50 p.m., said station 11 captain Kevin Tarkowski.
He described the rescue as a "painstaking, slow process."
Crews stabilized the perimeter to avoid further collapse and then excavated the sand surrounding the man, with the help of a hydrovac truck operated by one of the construction workers.
The excavation process had to be conducted slowly, Tarkowski said, as the more crews dug, the further the man sunk into the sand.
He noted that a significant amount of debris surrounded the worker's face, who likely had a hard time breathing due to the pressure from the sand surrounding him.
Despite the circumstances, Tarkowski said the man was conscious and calm throughout the rescue, and was alert when taken to hospital by EMS.
Occupational Health and Safety is investigating the collapse.