Responders rescue worker from trench of wet concrete

More than 20 rescue units spent nearly an hour and a half trying to extract the worker from the trench

February 17, 2015 12:59 PM

San Antonio Express-News

SAN ANTONIO, Texas — San Antonio firefighters and rescue teams pulled a construction worker from a trench in a dramatic rescue effort in Southtown Monday evening.

First responders received a call around 5:30 p.m. on South Alamo and Cesar Chavez Boulevard, near the John H. Wood Jr. U.S. Courthouse at HemisFair Park. A man in his mid-60s was working on filling trenches with a concrete mixture when a metal retaining wall broke and the man became trapped about 20 feet below street level, said Assistant Chief Robert Mikel.

“It (the trench) started filling up while he was standing there,” Mikel said.

The man, who was not immediately identified, was working with a utility construction crew, but was the only one trapped in the trench, Mikel said.

Rescuers worried about hypothermia because the mixture was wet, the weather chilly, and drizzle began falling before crews lowered a basket into the hole for the worker to be removed.

Officials said the man was alert and talking with rescuers during the ordeal.

Around 7 p.m., rescuers pulled the man from the trench and wrapped him up before putting him in an ambulance. He was taken to University Hospital to be checked.

No further details were immediately available.

More than 20 Fire Department rescue units spent nearly an hour and a half trying to extract the worker from the trench. Mikel said as crews got closer to getting the man out, more concrete would surround the man.