On the evening of July 9, a tunnel collapse was reported in Wilmington Tunnel Collapse , Los Angeles, trapping 31 workers. The tunnel was under construction when a part of it collapsed on the workers at 8 pm on Wednesday. Initially, the authorities believed that around 15 workers were trapped beneath the industrial tunnel that had collapsed. Thus, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) arrived, along with more than 100 personnel at the collapse site to help the trapped people. However, the staff had rescued 31 workers from the collapse scene, instead of 15. This was an emergency that required immediate attention from the rescue ops.
What Happened at Wilmington, Los Angeles?
On Wednesday, an industrial tunnel collapsed, trapping 31 workers with it, which required immediate attention from the authorities. The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) was called about the incident, and they were assigned an emergency task immediately. They reached 1710 N Figueroa St., Los Angeles, which was the entry point for the industrial tunnel. According to the information they received about the collapse incident, the workers were trapped approximately six miles south of the entry point. The officials reported that the tunnel was under construction and would be a carrier of wastewater. Additionally, the mouth of the tunnel was 18 feet wide, which is ideal for carrying a large amount of sewage. It was quite challenging to rescue so many people when they had to cover about 6 miles to reach them.
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Steps taken by the Rescue team
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) immediately assigned more than 100 personnel to the site to rescue the assumed 15 workers in the tunnel. The personnel included Urban Search and Rescue teams (USAR) for rescuing the trapped workers in the tunnel. Many news outlets have reported the operation by sending their helicopters for an aerial view. According to them, the rescue team was seen installing safety measures for the vertical entry point of the tunnel.
The tunnel was a major industrial project to mobilise wastewater to their main plant for filtering and purifying the water. However, the project only made one entry point for the tunnel, which stretched for miles. This posed a challenge for the rescue team, which was tasked with saving approximately 15 workers from an emergency. The cause of the collapse is unknown to the authorities, as their primary focus is rescuing the workers trapped inside the tunnel. Additionally, a team of engineers and structural experts is on the site to examine any further risks of fallout in the tunnel.
Were all the 31 Workers Rescued?
The rescue team made every effort to rescue all the workers inside the tunnel, which they did. The news helicopters were recording the process adopted by the rescue teams to help the workers trapped inside the tunnel. Cranes were used to aid the team in rescuing the workers who were extending a metal compartment in the tunnel. The team stepped onto the compartments to enter the tunnel for their rescue mission. Moreover, some of them had to separate from those compartments to help the workers stuck inside the tunnel. They climbed out of the tunnel, passing through the loose soil where the tunnel collapsed, and joined the rest of the team.
By 9:20 pm, all the workers had been rescued from the tunnel that collapsed while they were inside. Many of them hugged each other as they safely came out of a near-death experience. The paramedics arrived at the location to check for any possible injuries to the victims of the collapse. Fortunately, the workers were safe and not injured.
About the Tunnel Project and the Collapse
According to the Project website, this tunnel was a step in replacing the older sewage tunnels with a better infrastructure. However, the tunnel collapsed midway due to unknown reasons. LA Mayor Karen Bass arrived at the location as soon as he heard the incident. He posted a post on X saying that he spoke with the workers who were trapped in the tunnel and acknowledged the rescue team’s efforts.
The details about the reason for the collapse are not identified right now. However, the authorities will look into the matter and inform the media about the same.
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Conclusion
The Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team is trained to be calm and equipped for such life-or-death situations. They are trained to rescue people when they are trapped in confined spaces, such as tunnels. Their expertise in their work is a necessity, as one mistake can lead to a horrific death. However, the team managed to rescue all the workers amid the challenges they faced in reaching them.
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