A man was transported to the hospital with serious injuries after he became trapped in a deep trench while working on a hillside home in Los Feliz Thursday morning.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the 2300 block of North Catalina Street around 10:50 a.m. to rescue the man, who was alert and conscious but “trapped up to his shoulders” in the eight-foot deep trench near the back of the home.
Fire officials later said that the man was trapped in soil that went above his waist and was wedged next to a load-bearing wall on the construction site.
Video from Sky5 showed a massive rescue effort as firefighters and first responders utilized shovels and ladders as they worked quickly to stabilize the walls of the trench.
Once stabilized, LAFD officials said responders who were “specially trained and equipped in confined space operations” would commence a “high-risk” rescue.
By about 5 p.m., the man had been finally removed from the trench and was being transported to a local hospital by ambulance.
“After nearly six hours of a relentless rescue effort in oppressive heat by dozens of Los Angeles Fire Department responders working seamlessly in non-stop rotation, the adult male construction worker has been skillfully removed,” LAFD officials said.
In addition to the construction worker, whose name or craft was not immediately known, two firefighters were treated at the scene for heat-related exhaustion. One of those firefighters was taken to the hospital for further treatment.
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