UPDATED: Trench collapse buries man under 16 tons

Update, 2:05 p.m.

Crews have stopped using heavy equipment to remove the 16 to 20 tons of dirt that trapped a man in a ditch at about 10:30 a.m., Darrell Atteberry with the Bel Aire Police Department, said. Crews are now using hands and small tools to reach the man.

He said he will not discuss whether crews are rescuing or recovering the man.

The man’s family is on scene, and Atteberry said they are grieving, but hopeful.

OSHA is on scene.

Original story

A man in his 20s has been buried under 16 to 20 tons of dirt since about 10:30 a.m. at a construction site near 53rd North and Webb.

The site is at East 53rd and Industry, close to a FedEx Ground Sort Facility and Next Level Hoops Academy.

Darrell Atteberry with the Bel Aire Police Department said the man was working at the bottom of a trench at about 10:30 a.m. when it caved in.

He said the Sedgwick County Fire Department estimated a dump trunk-size load of material fell on the man, who is buried about 10 to 12 feet down. They have not been able to make contact with him.

About 35 people are working at the site trying to get the man out of the trench. It could take up to 2 1/2 hours, a Sedgwick County Dispatch supervisor said.

The man was excavating a hole to bury a pipe. He works for Wilks Underground Utilities and was the only person in the trench at the time of the collapse, Atteberry said. The trench is about 3 to 4 feet wide and 10 to 12 feet deep, Atteberry said.

Wilks Underground is an excavation company based in Wichita.

This story was originally published December 20, 2017 at 10:50 AM with the headline "UPDATED: Trench collapse buries man under 16 tons."