Construction Worker Buried Alive in Trench

A man was killed in when a trench collapsed on him at a construction site near Cartersville, Georgia.

James Hilbish, 46, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was working when the trench, which was 30 feet deep and another 25 to 30 feet long under the roadway, collapsed during sewer line installation, said Bartow County Fire Chief Craig Millsap. The construction foreman was killed when the trench buried him just before noon. It took firefighters more than three hours to extract his body.

Because trench rescues are so dangerous, Bartow authorities called in members of the Georgia Search and Rescue team, which included firefighters from Calhoun, Bartow, Cobb and Gordon counties.

Tunco Co. of Tuscaloosa, the company Hilbish was working for, had subcontracted work with the Bartow County Water Department, authorities said.

No one else suffered injuries in the accident.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials are investigating the accident.