By: John Lomax V, Breaking News
Source: Houston Chronicle (TNS)
Feb. 5—A construction worker died Wednesday afternoon after an 8-foot trench collapsed at a southwest Houston Apartment Complex, according to a spokesperson for the Houston Fire Department.
HFD spokesperson Richard Rawlings said a construction crew dug the trench to perform maintenance at the Stone River Apartments at 8901 Bisonnet St. One worker who was also in the trench was able to escape up a ladder, but the other was pronounced dead at the scene after he was buried in the collapse.
“It’s incredibly unfortunate,” Rawlings said. “HFD never likes to respond to these types of incidents. We certainly have the tools and the resources to respond and to help in a situation like this.”
The workers who were not caught in the collapse dug the man who died out and were making efforts to save his life when HFD arrived. Firefighters also attempted to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene around 2 p.m. Rawlings said no one else was injured.
The identity of the man who died has not been released. Officials are working to notify his family before they identify him, Rawlings said.
One woman, a mother who has lived at the complex for around two months, said she thought the construction work may have been related to a water issue tenants had recently reported.
“There’s been some days that we don’t have water, and it takes them a few days to get it back on,” said Stone River resident Elsie Negrete. “I think that’s what they were fixing.”
The Houston Police Department and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were also at the complex investigating Thursday afternoon. Officials did not name the company that was performing the construction.
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