1 man killed, 2 others rescued after wall collapses in Pacoima worksite accident
Los Angeles firefighters rescued two men from a worksite accident that killed another worker Wednesday morning in Pacoima.
Firefighters found three workers were injured by a collapsed cinder block wall after arriving at a construction site in the 10500 block of North Glenoaks Boulevard, near Hansen Dam, a few minutes after 8:45 a.m.
A 6-foot-high, 40-foot-long wall collapsed and split into five sections near an adjacent 3-by-3 trench where several people were working, according to Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott.
A 42-year-old and a 45-year-old were quickly extracted and taken to a hospital with “non-life-threatening injuries,” Scott said.
Six people were rescued after they became trapped by materials that collapsed at a movie studio under construction in Glendale.
The third worker, identified as 49-year-old Javier Calderon Casas, however, died under the rubble, Scott said. According to fire personnel, he was declared dead at the site.
No names or additional descriptions of the other two workers were available at the time.
Fire respondents shut down electrical sources, machinery and cut off all water to the accident site as they attempted the rescue.
Jackhammers and sledgehammers were used to break up the wall while firefighters implemented hydraulic spreaders, wooden planks and airbags to move the wall from the area, Scott said.
Scott said the Fire Department was at the site investigating, along with the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
Over the past weeks, teams across the state have rescued people from flooded cars and neighborhoods. They are now preparing for the next series of storms.
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