2 WORKERS DIE THURSDAY
Technical rescue teams were working to recover the bodies of two construction workers at the site of a trench collapse near 107th and Missouri avenues in Phoenix on Thursday afternoon.
The two workers were buried in a trench at a housing site in the area while they were working to connect a sewer line to a new home build, Phoenix fire Capt. Rob McDade said.
Officials said the men were both 35 years old. “It’s a tragic situation,” McDade said. “You’ve got workers out here, working hard building a home site. Unfortunately, it’s not the first one we’ve been on. We do see these every year.”
A Phoenix police officer arrived and tried to help about noon, but officials said attempting to rescue the men would have resulted in more fatalities due to the weight of compressed dirt.
“The initial thing is, you want to help, you want to make sure you’re able to do something as you’re arriving,” Phoenix police spokeswoman Sgt. Mercedes Fortune said. “And I think just the frustration, not being able to help and be there for them and get them to safety, if you can imagine, is weighing heavy on that officer.”
Other construction workers were in the area when the collapse occurred.
The families of the men were at the scene and first responders planned to recover the bodies over the next eight hours, according to Fortune.
McDade said he does not know how deep the trench was at the time of the collapse, but crews will reconstruct the scene after the bodies are recovered.
Phoenix police, Phoenix fire, Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other agencies were at the scene and were expected to investigate.