LOS ANGELES — Thirty-one construction workers were trapped when an industrial tunnel collapsed in Los Angeles. All of them were rescued, in what city officials called a blessing.
The collapse happened about 5 miles from the only entrance of the tunnel. The workers were another mile deeper and were 400 feet underground, according to Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts spokesperson Michael Chee, as reported by The Associated Press.
Some of the crew were split from the rest of the team and had to climb over a 12-foot-high mound of loose soil to get to the tunnel boring machine and the awaiting cage that would take them back to the surface, KTLA reported.
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The New York Times reported that initially, 27 workers were trapped when the tunnel collapsed, and another four workers entered to help with the rescue.
About an hour and a half after emergency crews arrived at the scene, all 31 workers were rescued.
One man who was trapped said it was a tight squeeze to get out of the collapse. His sister said he thought he was going to die, the AP reported.
None of the trapped workers had major injuries, officials said.
The tunnel is 18 feet wide and 7 miles long and will be used to carry treated wastewater from the city to the Pacific Ocean. Work is paused as the investigation into the collapse’s cause continues and until the site is determined to be safe, the AP reported.
The project, which was planned to replace two tunnels that had been in operation since the 1930s, was expected to be finished in 2027, the Times reported.
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