Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:
Firefighters pulled out two workers from a trench Friday afternoon in Elgin after one man fell from a ladder and landed on the other man, authorities said.
The men were contractors digging huge trenches to put in a natural gas pipeline off Mccornack Road near Big Timber Road, Elgin Fire Department Batallion Chief Rich Carter said.
“They were about 20 feet down in the bottom of the trench,” Carter said. “They were both injured.”
fFirefighters were lowered into the trench to tend to the workers’ injuries, which were serious. Both men were pulled out manually with ropes and pulleys.
“It took us about 40 minutes to get them out of the trench,” Carter said.
The men were taken to hospitals by ambulance and helicopter.
Several neighboring fire departments responded with rescue personnel, including Pingree Grove, Hampshire, Bartlett, and Rutland and Dundee townships.
