Trench collapse in Toronto leaves 2 construction workers critically injured: paramedics

Toronto firefighters dug out a pair of workers who were buried after a trench they were working in collapsed Monday morning.

Toronto firefighters dug out a pair of workers who were buried after a trench they were working in collapsed this morning.

Toronto police say the accident happened at around 11:45 a.m. in the area of Edmund Avenue and Weston Road in the city’s Weston neighbourhood.

Toronto Fire tells CTV News Toronto that two workers were buried up to their waists in a trench at a construction site.

“Upon arrival, crews found two male individuals at the bottom of a trench [that was] approximately eight feet,” said Toronto Fire Division Commander John Davidson while speaking to reporters at the scene.

“Extrication maneuvers began with supplemental panels being placed around the workers, so our rescuers could actually access the trench in a safe manner.”

The workers were conscious and breathing following the collapse, according to fire officials, and crews successfully freed both men at around 1:30 p.m.

Toronto Paramedics say the pair—a man in his 50s and a man in his mid-20s—have been taken to a trauma centre with serious, life-threatening injuries.

“I don’t know the history of the work site, but it is a pre existing excavation,” Davidson said. “There is a foundation present plus utilities. So, in those circumstances, the trenches are very unstable because it’s redistributed soil.”

“Trench stability without proper shoring in place and the warm weather—it dries up the earth—[can lead to] a substantial trench collapse like we witnessed here today.”

Davidson added that rescuers had to take their time when pulling the second worker out of the trench due to a stone that crews were worried may roll into him.

Weston Road is closed between Jane Street and Denison Road East while crews clear the scene.

A provincial Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development inspector is investigating.