Hours-Long Operation Rescues Man From Collapsed Minneapolis Trench

Apr 24

Written By MN CRIME

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A drain worker was rescued early this morning after being trapped for at least five hours in a partially collapsed trench near a south Minneapolis street.

Crews were dispatched around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, to 3848 13th Avenue South for a report of a man stuck in a 14-foot-deep hole in the street.

According to officials with the Minneapolis Fire Department, the man was working for a private company and became pinned down in a narrow, minimally supported trench, with sand eventually trapping him from the waist down.

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Minneapolis fire crews began the extended rescue operation by bringing in a vacuum truck from the city’s Street Department to start removing the sand. Firefighters set up a tripod over the hole, attached a rope system to a body harness and secured the harness on the man. As the sand was suctioned out, crews simultaneously worked to stabilize the sides of the trench to prevent its further collapse.

After initial efforts proved difficult, mutual aid was requested from the Saint Paul Fire Department, with a rescue squad and additional equipment to the scene. Together, crews from both cities used plywood and metal shoring to reinforce the trench while continuing to free the man.

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Throughout the rescue, Hennepin County medical personnel monitored the man’s condition and provided care inside the trench. Heat was pumped into the space to protect him from cold exposure.

After being trapped for nearly six hours, the man was pulled out around 3 a.m. on Thursday, April 24, and was seen walking on his own to a waiting ambulance. He was transported to a hospital for evaluation and no other injuries were reported.

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