Federal investigators are beginning the grim task of trying to find out why a concrete retaining wall collapsed onto a construction worker Tuesday morning. He died after a painstaking rescue operation.
The collapse left a 29-year-old construction worker buried up to his waist in dirt and debris. It happened around 10:30 a.m. eastern time at 700 Ramona Avenue in Feltonville, Pennsylvania where an Amazon facility is under construction.
Crews were building part of a 10- to 15-foot concrete retaining wall to hold back soil from an adjoining property. The wall suddenly gave way.
The worker suffered injuries from his head down, said Deputy Fire Chief Carl Randolph.
Randolph said the victim was buried waist-deep in dirt, and it took more than an hour for rescuers to dig the worker out by hand.
"It's hand digging. There's actually a human with soft tissue," Randolph said. "You have to take your time. You have to be delicate. There is a process to removing a victim from being buried in such a way."
He was freed at 11:30 and rushed to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a half-hour later.
Construction activity is now apparently halted, and Randolph says OSHA is coming in to investigate.
Stay with KYW Newsradio for more on this developing story.
CORRECTION: A previous version cited initial reports that gave the man's age as 30. He was 29.
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