One worker died and two others were injured in a trench collapse in Yarmouth on Tuesday. One of the workers was trapped for around five hours before he was finally rescued.
The collapse happened in front of the Skipper Chowder House restaurant on South Shore Drive at about 8:30 a.m. during ongoing sewer construction. Crews were able to get the man who died out of the trench around 2:45 p.m.
The fire department initially responded to a report of two people trapped in the trench. A third worker “heroically jumped in” to try and help.
Yarmouth Fire Chief Enrique Arrascue said it was a “very complicated” rescue effort. The trench kept collapsing as rescuers tried to remove a worker who was buried up to his waist. He was freed around 1:20 p.m. and flown to a trauma center in Rhode Island. The man who jumped in was able to get himself out of the trench and was taken by ambulance to a hospital.
