DALLAS, Texas — One construction worker died and another was rescued after a tunnel collapsed beneath an apartment building under construction Thursday afternoon in the Cypress Waters development near the Dallas-Coppell border.
Emergency crews were dispatched around 3:20 p.m. on June 18 to the 2200 block of Sage Hill Lane after reports that workers had become trapped underground.
According to the Coppell Fire Department, workers were manually digging a tunnel beneath a building foundation in preparation for pouring concrete when the tunnel collapsed, trapping two workers.
Dallas Fire-Rescue requested mutual aid assistance from the Coppell Fire Department. Coppell Engine 121 responded to the scene along with Truck 125 and Rescue 121. Additional assistance was provided by Dallas Fire-Rescue's Urban Search and Rescue Team and the Denton Fire Department.
One of the trapped workers was rescued during the operation.
Rescue crews then spent several hours working to reach the second worker, who remained trapped beneath the collapsed tunnel.
Dallas Fire-Rescue officials said rescuers removed approximately three feet of dirt during the recovery effort. Despite those efforts, the second worker was pronounced deceased after being extricated from the collapse site.
The victim was later identified as 29-year-old Josias David Pedro-Aquino.
The Coppell Fire Department said its crews were honored to assist in the rescue operation and expressed condolences to those affected by the tragedy.
"We are thankful for our crew being at the ready and able to answer the call. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families affected by this," the department said in a statement.
The incident remains under investigation by the Dallas Police Department and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
Officials have not released additional information regarding the cause of the collapse.
