Orange County Fire Authority crews were searching Wednesday for the body of a construction worker believed to have been buried during a trench collapse at a Lake Forest construction site. (Courtesy of the Orange County Fire Authority)
Worker’s body found after trench collapse at construction site in Lake Forest
By Jonathan Winslow | jwinslow@scng.com | Orange County Register
May 9, 2018
LAKE FOREST, CA
After several hours of digging, Orange County Fire Authority firefighters recovered the body of a worker who was buried in a construction site accident in Lake Forest on Wednesday, authorities said.
The worker was believed to have been buried at a construction site at the intersection of Glenn Ranch Road and Viejo Ridge when a trench on the site collapsed at 3 p.m., said OCFA Capt. Larry Kurtz. Backhoes were digging in the area when the ground caved in, he said.
At 5:30 p.m., OCFA crews and other assisting agencies were using heavy equipment to carefully clear and stabilize the trench, after which teams would move in and begin clearing the dirt by hand.
At 9:09 p.m., the body of a male construction worker was recovered from the dirt by crews, Kurtz said. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the Division of Occupational Safety and Health of California have launched an investigation in to what caused the trench to cave in, he said.
The worker’s name was not immediately released.
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A worker died Wednesday after a trench about 17 feet deep collapsed at a Lake Forest construction site, burying his body underneath dirt, authorities said.
Construction crews handling the grading for a tract home project were using an excavator to dig when a side of the trench gave way, said Capt. Larry Kurtz of the Orange County Fire Authority.
It's unclear if the worker, who was not identified, fell inside or was acting as a spotter in the trench, Kurtz said. Two or three dozen people were on-site working for a company called Empire Grading.
Fire officials were called to the development, near Viejo Ridge Drive and Glenn Ranch Road, about 3 p.m. They used powerful vacuum trucks and buckets to carefully remove the dirt around the body during the recovery, Kurtz said.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health and the Orange County Sheriff's Department were investigating the circumstances of the accident, he said.
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A construction worker is believed by Orange County fire officials to be dead after he was buried by dirt when a trench collapsed at a construction site in Lake Forest Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
Firefighters have been working to recover the man's body at the site near Glenn Ranch Road and Viejo Ridge Drive. The incident happened at around 3 p.m.
Authorities respond to a construction site in Lake Forest where a worker was believed trapped in a collapsed trench on May 9, 2018. (Credit: KTLA)
At about 5 p.m., fire officials said they would be removing dirt from the trench "for several hours" as part of recovery efforts.
The trench is about 15 feet deep and 17 feet wide, officials said. Sky5 footage of the scene showed some splatters of blood inside the trench.
"To do this, they have to be safe," O.C. Fire Authority Capt. Larry Kurtz said of the firefighters trying to find the man's body.
Since the trench could collapse further, firefighters have to secure its edges with planks of wood "so they don't fall into the trench," Kurtz said.
A construction worker on scene told KTLA the man apparently killed was also a worker and good friend of his.
The incident occurred at the apparent site of a planned massive residential development called the Portola Center. The 195-acre project includes 930 homes, according to the city of Lake Forest's website.
No further information has been released by authorities.
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