The San Francisco fire department worked feverishly Tuesday afternoon to save a man who got trapped up to his neck inside a trench of dirt. Just before 5 p.m. their hardwork paid off and the man was lifted from the hole on a stretcher. He appeared to be concious and alert.
Witnesses say the man was standing on a concrete deck in front of a home with another construction worker when a pillar collapsed and threw them both into a trench below around 1 p.m.
One man was able to get out, but the second guy was buried in what is being described as a sand-like soil.
The rescue took place in the front yard of a home on West Clay St. in the Richmond District where some kind of construction work was clearly under way. A fire spokesman said the victim was talking to rescuers the entire time.
Two dozen rescuers surrounded the man and built reinforcements to the trench so that it would not collapse any further. They supported the trench with wooden panels and metal braces. One fireman could be seen in helicopter video leaning over and talking to the stuck man. Nearby firefighters dug with shovels to move some of the dirt away from the trench.
A backhoe, which could have been in the yard because of a renovation or landscaping project, was put in place to help hoist the man up to safety.
A neighbor told Bay City News there has been construction at that address recently.
