Man dies in cave-in of trench

Jace Radke

Friday, Sept. 17, 1999 | 10:19 a.m.

After nearly seven hours of digging and searching, Clark County and Henderson firefighters unearthed the body of a construction worker buried during a cave-in Thursday.

The 36-year-old worker, whose name has not yet been released, was laying pipe as part of the $8 million expansion of the city of Henderson Water Reclamation Facility near Sunset and Pabco roads.

"Three people were working in a trench about 25 feet wide and 20 feet deep when it caved in," Henderson Deputy Fire Chief Jim Cavalieri said.

At about 10:30 a.m. the 30-foot long trench collapsed on the victim and two other workers from Xpert Xcavating, a company subcontracted to lay the pipes in that part of the expansion.

The victim was completely covered by earth and concrete from curbing and a road apron that ran along the trench, Cavalieri said.

The other two workers were only partially buried and were able to pull themselves to safety, suffering only minor injuries.

Clark County's heavy rescue team worked with Henderson firefighters in an effort to dig the trapped man out, but conditions at the site made the rescue attempt slow going.

"There was a great deal of water seeping into the trench, and there was a lot of debris," Cavalieri said. "The sides of the trench were also very unstable."

Eventually rescuers brought in a vacuum truck, a large truck with an extendible vacuum arm and hose used to clean out sewers, to suck up some of the mud and debris that had fallen into the trench.

Finally at about 5:15 p.m. the victim's body was recovered from the trench.

The victim's father, who owns Xpert Xcavating, was at the collapse site during the rescue and was in constant contact with the rescuers, Cavalieri said.

"The family has all of our condolences," Cavalieri said. "A great deal of work went into trying to find that young man, and the rescue crews out here share the family's grief."