Jonesboro construction worker dies in trench

JONESBORO — A Jonesboro construction worker died in a trench collapse on Monday afternoon, the city fire chief said Tuesday.

Three workers were trapped when the trench wall collapsed in the 4700 block of East Johnson Avenue, Chief Marty Hamrick said.

“They were doing utility work about 6 to 8 feet deep in the trench when a wall collapsed,” Hamrick said.

The fire chief said other members of the construction crew were able to get one person out, but a secondary collapse buried the other two farther down.

“That’s the bad thing about trench collapses, once one happens there is an increased likelihood that another will happen again,” Hamrick said.

Hamrick said when firefighters arrived on the scene, one worker was buried, but part of his chest and his head were exposed.

“Our first goal was to get them out and stabilized,” he said.

The chief said the first victim firefighters helped was immediately transferred to a hospital. He was unsure about the first victim who was rescued by the construction crew.

Firefighters said once they dug down to get the vitals of the worker who was fully buried in the soil, they discovered the worker was dead.

The identity of the deceased worker was not immediately released.

Hamrick said the Fire Department retrieved the last victim around 3 p.m. on Monday.

The department wasn’t immediately available to confirm the employer of the workers.

Hamrick said contractors will likely fill the trench up eventually, but investigations into the cause of the collapse will happen first.