Frantic 50 Minutes : Two Workers Rescued After Trench Caves In

Tense silence gave way to hearty applause Friday when rescuers pulled the second of two construction workers from a ditch where the two men had been trapped under nearly 10 feet of dirt.

Covered with soil but unhurt, Armando Lopez, 27, of Van Nuys was hoisted out by firefighters from the cave-in of the trench being dug for a sewer line.

“I felt scared, but nothing hurts,” Lopez said as he was carried away on a stretcher.

Lopez, who had been buried in a crouched position for nearly an hour, was treated and released at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, said Anne Lipman, a hospital spokeswoman.

The first man to be pulled out was Rafael Armendariz, 28, of Sun Valley. He suffered broken ribs but was in stable condition at Northridge Hospital after the cave-in, Lipman said.

The men were laying pipe when they were trapped at the site of a future apartment complex in the 17200 block of Roscoe Boulevard, just west of Balboa Boulevard in Northridge, said Los Angeles City Fire Battalion Chief John Callahan. A construction worker summoned firefighters when the cave-in occurred about 5:30 p.m., Callahan said.

Seven firefighters and four paramedics worked for about 50 minutes to extricate Lopez, protecting his head from falling dirt with a firefighter’s jacket. “He kind of liked that idea, to keep all that dirt from falling down on him,” Callahan said.

Firefighters also ran a line of air into the ditch through a garden hose, Callahan said, so that Lopez could breathe fresh air.

“He was conscious and breathing,” Callahan said. “He just couldn’t move, and he certainly couldn’t get out.”

Lopez was pinned in a crouched position on his knees, with only part of his head visible to firefighters outside the trench, the battalion chief said. Firefighters used shovels and picks to dig him out, Callahan said. “Our main concern was not to move any dirt that would cut down on his breathing,” Callahan said.

“The guys kept talking to him, checking on his condition,” Callahan said. “He didn’t seem to be in any pain, and he wasn’t panicking. He seemed to be handling it pretty well.”

Paramedics examined Lopez and did not detect any obvious injuries, Callahan said.

“He was able to crawl out of the hole, and we assisted him in walking out,” Callahan said.

Armendariz was trapped for only about 15 minutes in softer dirt and was able to partly free himself and crawl out of the trench, aided by firefighters, Callahan said.

Callahan said this was the second construction-related cave-in he had been involved with in 15 years.

The cause of accident, which was referred to Cal OSHA for investigation, was not immediately known.