Missouri workers rescued after being trapped by fallen concrete in sewer tunnel

SHREWSBURY, Mo. (KTVI) — There were tense moments at a drainage project site near St. Louis Wednesday after multiple workers became trapped far underground and had to be rescued.

It happened around 9:30 a.m. in Shrewsbury, a suburb of the city.

Metropolitan Sewer District spokesperson Sean Hadley says seven workers were about 200 feet underground in a massive shaft that is being built for drainage.

The incident took place when three of the workers became trapped by a concrete form, which is a piece of material weighing around 3,000 lbs used to help shape the material.

Crews from at least nine different fire departments responded to the rescue. They used the contractor’s equipment to go down into the shaft.

The workers were out in just over an hour. Two had some leg injuries, but only one had to be taken to the hospital. No serious injuries were reported. The other workers got out after the trapped workers were rescued.

Hadley says back in 2019 a worker from a different company was killed at this same job site. However, the circumstances were different. That worker was struck by a crane early in the morning.

Hadley says the job site is now shut down while OSHA tries to figure out what happened. No word on when work there might resume.