Thirty-one workers escaped unharmed after a collapse inside an industrial tunnel in Los Angeles.
The collapse was reported around 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Wilmington area, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The workers were able to scramble over a 12- to 15-foot-tall pile of loose soil and meet several coworkers on the other side of the collapse. They were shuttled several at a time by a tunnel vehicle to the access point more than five miles away, officials said.
“LAFD has just reported that all workers who were trapped in the tunnel in Wilmington are now out and accounted for," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said late Wednesday. "I just spoke with many of the workers who were trapped. Thank you to all of our brave first responders who acted immediately. You are L.A.'s true heroes.”
Officials said the tunnel was being constructed for municipal wastewater management. They were between 5-6 miles from the only access point, officials said.
Robert Ferrante, chief engineer with the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, called it a "tense situation."
"Anytime you have a collapse in a tunnel behind you, there was only one way out at that time, it's to come back here to the shaft, so they had to come back and make their way through the damaged section of the tunnel," he said. "It was very scary, as I just want to reiterate, we're very fortunate no one was hurt.
More than 100 LAFD personnel were on scene, including members of the department’s Urban Search and Rescue team, who are specially trained and equipped for confined-space tunnel rescues.
