In an unlikely escape from a collapsed tunnel in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, 27 workmen climbed over a sizable pile of loose soil and emerged at the only entrance five miles distant without suffering serious injuries, according to officials.
Following the collapse, four additional tunnel workers entered the industrial tunnel to assist with rescue operations. According to Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts spokesperson Michael Chee, all 31 employees came out of the incident safely and without suffering any serious injuries.
After sending over 100 rescue personnel to the scene in the Wilmington section of the city, which is roughly 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported that no one was missing.
At a press conference, interim Fire Department Chief Ronnie Villanueva stated, “We were fortunate tonight.”
According to a statement from the Fire Department, the collapse left a 12- to 15-foot pile of loose soil inside a horizontal excavation site in the seven-mile-long, 18-foot-diameter tunnel. The tunnel was a component of a building project.
When the rubble imprisoned the tunnel workers, they clambered over it to meet their colleagues who had gone inside to assist. According to fire officials, the workers were then transported to the entrance in groups on a tunnel vehicle.
The workers were lifted to the ground from the tunnel’s circular entrance inside a metal cage that was elevated by a crane, according to television video from local news channels.
The cause of the collapse was not immediately disclosed by the authorities. The workers were receiving treatment for minor wounds, according to Interim Chief Villanueva.
The Sanitation Districts commissioned the tunnel as part of a $630 million wastewater management project. On their website, the tunnel’s principal contractor, Flatiron Dragados, stated that the project was anticipated to be finished in 2027.
According to Mr. Chee, two tunnels that had been in use since the 1930s were being replaced with a new tunnel that would carry treated wastewater to the ocean.
Construction will be suspended indefinitely while the cause of the collapse is investigated, according to Robert Ferrante, the general manager and chief engineer of the Sanitation Districts. He claimed that while workers were using a boring machine elsewhere, the collapse had taken place in an area where the ground was applying a lot of strain to the tunnel.
Fearing calamity, Mayor Karen Bass informed reporters outside the facility that she had hurried to the scene.
“Tonight in Los Angeles, we’re all blessed,” she remarked.
