Struck by a trackhoe bucket, a worker in northeast Calgary lay injured at the bottom of a construction trench.
Emergency crews scrambled to stabilize the walls of the trench to go down and get the wounded man while a co-worker stayed in the trench with him.
“Anytime you have a deep trench there is the risk that the walls can collapse,” Calgary Fire Department spokeswoman Carol Henke said.
“Before we can send anyone down their to stabilize the patient, we need to stabilize the trench,” Henke added.
“The faster we can get him out, and get him to the hospital, the better his chances.”
The incident happened shortly before 1:30 p.m. Friday, in the 1300 block of 33 St. N.E., along the road outside the Coast Plaza Hotel.
It was unclear whether the adult male was struck and knocked into the trench or was already in the trench when he was struck.
His injuries were serious — he was rushed to a hospital in the back of an ambulance, awake and breathing but in potentially life-threatening condition.
EMS spokesman Adam Loria said the man suffered “internal injuries and head injuries.”
After the ambulance cleared the scene and the road was reopened, Alberta Occupational Health and Safety investigators arrived to figure out exactly what happened.
