Fatality probe underway after worker buried in sewer trench

Alberta Occupational Health and Safety says itis beginninga fatality investigation after a man was buried under several feet of dirt and clay on a work site Tuesday evening.

The man was buried when a trenchat a home construction site near 107th Avenue and 124th Street collapsed in onhim.

Jeff Peers,a rooferworking nearby,heard someone yelling to call 911.

"I went over to the hole just to look and I seen all the dirt falling in," he said. "Big huge chunks falling. It just kept caving in.

"I couldn't see a body or nothing. I couldn't go in. No, it was too dangerous,way too dangerous."

At 5 a.m. Wednesday, OHS spokespersonBrookes Merritt announcedthe 55-year-old man haddied.

OHS workers remainedon-scene overnight as efforts were made to free the man,who they said wasworking for the Bissell Centre Temporary Labour Agency.

The man had been working with a backhoe operator to dig a trench to lay sewer pipes when he was buried.

In a news release, Bissell CEOMarkHolmgren, said the agency'scasual labour program did not place any workers at thejob site or "to any of the companies cited by media."

He said Bissell islooking into the matter.

"We are saddened by the tragic fatality of an Edmonton labourer yesterday," he said. "Once we have more info like the man's identification, we can be more comprehensive in our review."

Merritt said OHS will be also looking into what happened on the worksite prior to and during the incident, as well as investigating whether the trench work was being done safely.

"They're looking for issues of compliance with how the trench work was being done and they're going tolook at whether it was being done in a healthy and safe manner."

People working at nearby businesses said there seemed to bemany problems at theconstruction site including a lack offencing anda watermain break.

The tragedy occurredon the National Day of Mourning, held every April 28 to remember workers who died or were injured onthe job.