‘A well-oiled machine:’ Worker rescued after trench collapses

By Jordan Cioppa, Nick Matoney

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    CHARLEROI, Pennsylvania (WTAE) — Rescue teams worked for several hours to free a man who was trapped in a trench that collapsed in Charleroi, Washington County.

The rescue effort on McKean Avenue began Thursday evening and continued overnight into early Friday morning.

“It was just a total, like, a well-oiled machine working in there,” said Charleroi Fire Chief Robert Whiten Jr. “And it paid off. The individual walked out, didn’t have to be carried out.”

The man was taken to a Pittsburgh-area hospital after he was rescued from the hole around 1:30 a.m.

Whiten said the man had a possible broken ankle.

“He seemed to be in pretty good shape. Pretty good spirits,” added Whiten.

Whiten also said the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would investigate the incident.

Earlier during the rescue, Whiten estimated that the trench was about 15-foot-deep. He said the man was talking and “in good spirits” during the rescue effort.

“The EMS, and I have a paramedic in my department, who have been down there giving him IVs and all the things they need to do to keep him going, and keep him relaxed, giving him some hope that we’re going to get you out of there,” Whiten said while the rescue was taking place.

The chief said they were using an air compressor truck to loosen up the dirt around the man before a vac truck sucked it out.

Whiten said there was also a mini excavator in the hole, but it did not prevent rescue teams from being able to reach the trapped person.

“I don’t know what it was used for, what they were doing,” Whiten said. “It’s solid. That’s why we have the tow company here. They got the machine secured, and then we’re working around the bucket in the machine. We don’t want that coming down on us either.”

According to the chief, there was a secondary collapse but shoring stopped it from hitting the man.

Columbia Gas tells Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 that work was not being done to a gas line. A spokesperson believes this is a sewer line project.

Whiten didn’t know the full extent of the work being performed at the location prior to the collapse but he said it had been going on for a few weeks and called it dangerous.

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