Worker freed from collapsed trench in Dupo, flown to St. Louis hospital

A worker who was trapped up to his neck in soil after a trench collapsed in Dupo Monday morning has been freed.

The man, whose name has not been released, was trapped for nearly four hours before being transported by ARCH helicopter to St. Louis University Hospital, said St. Clair County Emergency Services Director Herb Simmons.

Dupo Fire Chief Kurt Johnson said he believed the man was in his mid-60s.

The collapse occurred shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Pacific Railroad Company property near State and Adams streets. The man was not an employee of the railroad, but was part of a contractor crew repairing an underground sewer lift station, Johnson said.

“He stepped out of the trench box, and when he stepped onto the ground, the ground gave way,” Johnson said.

Though pinned below his neck, the man was able to communicate with his rescuers and co-workers, Simmons said. Members of his family also were at the scene.

The nature and extent of his injuries were not known, but Dupo Mayor Jerry Wilson said it was his “understanding that the individual was in stable condition.”

Johnson said his department received the emergency call at about 11:29 a.m. and immediately called for help from St. Clair County Special Services, which in turn brought in the St. Louis City Fire Department trench rescue team.

Wilson said a vacuum truck was used to “suck up the dirt” that had caved in around the man.

“That was the safest way to get him,” he said.

Dupo, St. Louis, Prairie duPont, Signal Hill and Belleville Fire departments also were at the scene. ARCH emergency helicopter and MedStar ambulance also responded.

The rescue “was a total team effort,” Johnson said. “We have the best outcome of all — he’s alive,” Johnson said.

Others also lauded the work of the rescue workers, including Simmons and a representative of Union Pacific Railroad

Wilson described the rescue effort as “incredible and remarkable.”

“I am very happy about how well all the communities worked together,” he said. “This could have been a tragedy and I’m thankful that it was not.”

This story was originally published November 29, 2021 at 3:59 PM.