Jul 17, 2008 6:07 pm US/Central
Worker Free After Spending Hours Buried
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (WCCO) ―
A worker trapped underneath dirt after a collapse at a construction site in Eden Prairie, Minn. is free after spending most of Thursday morning buried.
The accident happened near Picha Place at about 8:30 a.m. while Christopher Coppin, 34, was working with another man driving a backhoe.
The ground gave way underneath, trapping Coppin to his waist. Around 100 rescuers from more than a half dozen departments rushed to the scene.
"I've been on several construction sites where bad accidents have happened. This is by far one of the most tragic ones I've ever witnessed," said concerned on-looker David Elliot.
Dozens of nearby neighbors joined relatives of Coppin as rescuers worked to free him.
"When we arrived we had a gentleman that was about 12 to 15 feet down in a trench. He was covered up to about his midline and he was obviously in some distress and in some jeopardy with the loose soils that were surrounding him," explained Eden Prairie Fire Chief George Esbensen.
Crews removed the debris around him, and then shored up the area so nothing fell on him. Then they started digging, using vactor trucks to suck out the dirt.
"I was nervous, I was just praying the whole time," said Elliot.
So were his mother and other family members who watched for four hours until Coppin was finally freed.
"Very confined spaces and very unstable ground. And everything was done by hand, literally, scraping with hands there are the end to remove the last little bit of him out," said Esbensen. "He was in very good spirits, very cooperative, he was going quite well for the predicament that he was in."
A human chain passed Coppin's stretcher to a gurney, and as he wheeled passed his mother you can hear him say, "I busted my back, my back is broken."
"At least he's alive," said Elliot.
Coppin was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center where he is listed in satisfactory condition.
Chris Coppin works for Lance Coppin Sewer and Water Hook Up which is presumably his family's company. It appears Chris Coppin was installing a waterline at the Eden Prairie home at the time of the accident. OSHA, the agency which investigates workplace accidents, will now try to determine how the cave-in happened.
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