2 Workers Buried in Cave-In Saved : Rescue: One man is dug out 4 1/2 hours after trench collapse. State officials close construction site.

Los Angeles firefighters painstakingly dug for 4 1/2 hours in a 10-foot-deep trench--sometimes using coffee cans to scoop out dirt--to rescue two workers who were trapped at a construction site near MacArthur Park Wednesday. The accident happened when an unenforced wall of dirt collapsed on top of them.

Although the men were up to their chins in dirt, the unidentified workers suffered only minor injuries during the ordeal, authorities said.

A third worker at the construction site at 828 S. Carondelet St. also was briefly trapped in the 10:30 a.m. collapse, but was able to scramble to safety.

“These men were very lucky,” said Assistant Fire Chief Bob Ramirez.

After both men had been rescued, an inspector with the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration ordered the construction site closed while state and city officials look into the cause of the collapse.

The owner of the property, Frank Arrechea of Los Angeles, declined comment.

The project contractor, who was at the site, also declined to comment and even declined to give his name.

A crowd of more than 100 onlookers crowded around in the Westlake district neighborhood as rescuers worked into mid-afternoon. Some shouted words of encouragement to the firefighters from buildings that overlook the construction site, where an 18-unit apartment building is being built.

Rescuers were summoned to the scene after dirt collapsed while workers were digging what appeared to be an underground walkway for the building.

Firefighters worked for about 90 minutes before freeing the first trapped worker, a 22-year-old man from Guatemala. He was rushed to County-USC Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition with a possible broken wrist.

Rescuing the second worker was tougher because he was pinned in a standing position in the bottom of the trench. The opening at that point was only 15 inches wide. His right arm was trapped in a raised position, causing the worker to believe he would lose the limb, one rescuer said.

“He was panicking and I told him to calm down, that we could get him out,” said paramedic Charlie Magdaleno.

Ramirez said firefighters, fearful that more dirt might collapse on the trapped worker, took their time and used wood pilings to reinforce the trench before trying to pull him out. A special county trench excavation team was summoned to help out.

Several rescuers were lowered headfirst into the trench to scoop out dirt near the pinned worker with coffee cans. The rescuers also cut off the handles of several shovels because of the close quarters.

About three hours after the noon rescue of the first worker, the second man--a Salvadoran who was repeatedly reassured in Spanish by paramedic Magdaleno--was pulled out of the hole. He also was taken to County-USC Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition with pain in his left shoulder.

Some workers at the site complained to reporters about unsafe conditions, including the fact that none of the men working in the trench wore hard hats. They also complained that only one of the trench’s walls was reinforced when the collapse occurred.