The Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department is working to find a fiber optic installation worker after he fell into a collapsed trench Thursday, according to a news release from Assistant Chief of Training and Public Information Officer Scott Schaunaman.
Firefighters were dispatched to the area of 16th Street and Metropolitan Avenue at 2:15 p.m. Thursday on reports of a collapsed trench, Schaunaman said.
An initial report indicated that a man working an excavator on a fiber optic installation project had not been seen for “some time,” Schaunaman said. The man’s coworkers became concerned when they noticed his equipment wasn’t moving.
After checking the site, workers noticed that the trench the man had been working on had collapsed, Schaunaman said. A hand shovel was located nearby and the excavator operator was nowhere to be seen.
Schaunaman said the trench is located “in uneven terrain and is estimated to be approximately 16 to 18 feet wide and up to 25 feet deep at its deepest point.”
Specialized heavy rescue teams trained in trench rescue with the KCKFD responded to the scene with public works and emergency management, Schaunaman said. The team was still working to locate the missing worker Thursday evening.
“While this remains an active rescue mission, we are also preparing for the possibility of a recovery,” Schaunaman said.
Schaunaman said crews are working to “remove earth, stabilize the surrounding area” and bring in additional equipment and materials to prevent the trench from further collapsing.
Crews are also concerned about possible weather conditions that could create instability at the site, complicating the operation, Schaunaman said.
“We ask the community to please keep the missing worker, his family, and his coworkers in your thoughts during this extremely difficult time,” Schaunaman said.
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