Crews rescue men who fell into trench at north Scottsdale construction site

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - After a four-hour operation, crews rescued two men who fell into a 25-foot trench in north Scottsdale on Monday morning.

The Scottsdale Fire Department said multiple agencies responded to the rescue on Nov. 1 near 91st Street and Happy Valley Road.

The incident happened after a man in his 40s fell into the trench. Another man then jumped into the trench to help but also became stuck.

The man who fell into the trench has head and neck injuries. The second man was uninjured.

The two men are part of a construction company that is working at the site.

To get the first man out without the trench collapsing, crews shored up the walls with plates and crossbars and used a ladder to drop in from above to pull him out.

"They train once a week on different technical rescue techniques," said Battalion Chief M.D. Clark. "This is one of the low-frequency high-risk situations they train on all the time."

"We were able to accomplish what we came here to do, which is get the patient and bystander out of a trench with no further injuries to them or our crews," Clark added.

So what now? There are a lot of local state and federal regulations for projects like this.

The fire department said local and state agencies are now investigating to make sure all safety protocols were followed.

Arizona Headlines

• Newly settled Phoenix couple targeted by porch pirate a month after moving in
• Phoenix's Sky Harbor impacted, again, by American Airlines flight delays and cancellations
• PD: Man dies after being shot while leaving south Phoenix party

Get breaking news alerts in the FREE FOX 10 News app. Download for Apple iOS or Android.