Fire crews free worker trapped more than five hours in trench at La Jolla Shores home construction site

San Diego firefighters freed a construction worker trapped for more than five hours June 28 in a trench at a home construction site in La Jolla Shores, fire authorities said.

A call for help came just before 8 a.m., according to San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokeswoman Monica Muñoz. Crews arrived to find the man stuck from the waist down in the trench near El Paseo Grande.

Just before 1:30 p.m., the department posted video of crews hoisting the man from the trench and said he was getting medical attention.

Earlier, when the man was still trapped, Muñoz said it was “a challenging rescue” because of dirt and broken concrete in the trench “and we have called for additional resources.” She added that the man was alert.

NBC/7 reported late in the morning that the man’s legs were folded backward under a large concrete beam and that dirt had collapsed around him. The TV station said he had been given IV fluids and pain medication.

Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Erik Windsor told the station that the rescue was one of the more technical and serious the department will do this year.

“It is a very dynamic situation,” Windsor said. “Everything we do causes one reaction or another.” ◆