Emergency crews worked feverishly Tuesday evening to locate and pull out a man buried under clay and dirt at a worksite near the city's core.
Just after 11:00 p.m., Edmonton Fire Rescue told CTV News that they had found the man. Early Wednesday morning, Occupational Health and Safety confirmed that the 55-year-old worker had died.
Officials said the man was found in an upright postion, buried under six to seven feet of clay in a trench approximately ten feet deep.
Dist. Chief Doug MacDonald said that after the technical rescue team shored up the sides, to ensure there would be no chance of a cave-in, they went down with shovels and pick axes to locate the man.
Crews were called at about 4:50 p.m. Tuesday, on reports that a man had been buried in a trench on a construction site in the area of 107 Avenue and 123 Street.
By about 6:30 p.m., officials said crews were working to shore up the banks of the collapsed trench to get to the man – who was completely buried.
"It's very unstable, it's hard clay and brick and soil, it's just a matter of everybody staying safe so there's no further complications to the situation," Dist. Chief MacDonald said Tuesday.
Occupational Health and Safety officials will now conduct a fatality investigation.
