Renton, WA: A worker lost their life in a trench collapse at the intersection of Lincoln Avenue and NE 38th Street in the city of Renton on Wednesday afternoon, Sept 7, 2022.

Puget Sound Fire personnel responded to the location for a trench rescue after calls just before 1:00 p.m. reported a person buried in about 10 feet of dirt. Workers at the scene tried to excavate dirt from around the trapped person prior to arrival of fire personnel.

Fire crews found a worker approximately 20 feet down a trench who showed no signs of life. At that point, the incident changed to a recovery operation.

Firefighters were very cautious in recovery efforts to safely go down the trench and recover the victim without causing a secondary collapse, said Pat Pawlak with Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority interviewed near the scene.

It was unclear what project was in the works when the trench collapsed, but it did appear to be a private contractor, not the city of Renton, according to Pawlak.

Video: Steve Hickey, Photojournalist / KNN

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