Lincoln Fire and Rescue crews spent Tuesday morning working to free a construction worker trapped in a trench collapse at a job site just north of 98th and ‘O’ Street in the Waterford Estates neighborhood. Public Information Officer MJ Lierman says the call came in just after 10:20 a.m. with the worker buried up to his neck.
“Co-workers jumped in and were attempting to free his airway,” Lierman says. “We went into our trench rescue protocols.” Rescuers stabilized the trench, started IVs and oxygen and were able to free the worker down to his waist while waiting for two private and one specialized vacuum trucks to remove soil more quickly.
Around 12:00Lierman says the 37-year-old man had been freed from the trench and was conscious and alert when he was transported to the hospital.
Photos: KLIN’s Tom Stanton