Two construction workers were reported to be in stable condition on Monday after being rescued from a trench that collapsed in Edmonton on the weekend.
Rescuers used shovels, pails and even a small garden trowel to move dirt as they freed a 25-year-old man and his 16-year-old cousin, who were buried for hours in a small hole under an apartment complex on Sunday.
Police tape blocks access to a trench by an apartment complex, where two workers were buried for hours.
(CBC)
The pair were working in a trench beneath a ground level patio trying to stop water from leaking into a seniors condominium. When the trench collapsed just before 4 p.m., the man was buried in dirt up to his neck, while the teen was completely buried.
A co-worker created an airway for the teenager, then called 911.
Rescuers sent hot water bottles into the hole to try to keep the pair warm in the sub-freezing temperatures.
Nikki Booth, public information officer for Edmonton's emergency measures service, said rescuers had to work quickly because of the cold and carefully so as not to make the situation worse.
"It is quite thick and heavy dirt. So it's delicate work," Booth said Sunday.
"You want to ensure that you are removing the dirt safely without causing a secondary collapse. But you want to work quickly as well in order to get the people out safely and quickly."
The construction workers were flown to hospital after they were freed. Rescuers worked for more than two hours to free the teenager and more than four hours to free the older man.
With files from the Canadian PressRelated
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