Rescue efforts continued into Tuesday night for a person trapped in a trench collapse at a construction site in Tucson.
The site is on North Stone Avenue near East River Road, said Tucson Fire Department spokeswoman Jessica Nolte.
The person’s condition was unknown as of late Tuesday.
A firefighter was injured during the rescue operation. He is in stable condition at a hospital, Nolte said.
A second firefighter was also treated for “other medical-related issues” and is expected to make a full recovery, Nolte said.
Authorities did not release the name or gender of the trapped person, but a witness said he was told it was a man who was trapped.
Bryan Castle, who works at Defy Tucson, said he was outside talking on the phone when he witnessed workers scrambling and screaming to “dig.”
“My first thought was that they hit a water line or hit something,” Castle said. “As I got closer, I could see that they were panicked and that’s when the guy on the backhoe said, ‘A man’s buried alive in there.’”
After calling 911, Castle joined three other workers attempting to rescue the person.
“The workers found his hair. They were trying to clear to get to his face,” said Castle, who had exited the trench to provide the workers with more shovels.