Firefighters in Iowa rescue man from trench collapse

By Chad Thompson

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    CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCCI) — A man is recovering after a trench he was working in collapsed Tuesday.

The Cedar Rapids Fire Department posted images of the rescue on Facebook. Firefighters were called to the 600 block of First Avenue Southwest at 9:39 a.m.

The man was repairing utility lines to a nearby business prior to the collapse.

A spokesperson says the man was trapped from the waist down in the 10-foot trench. He was conscious and able to communicate the entire time. The man was transported to a hospital with unknown injuries to his lower extremities.

Workers removed soil from the trench to prevent another collapse.

Firefighters say this is the first time they’ve done this type of underground rescue since they started training for it in 1996.

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