OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #998260
ASPHYXIATED,WALL,COLLAPSE,CONSTRUCTION,TRENCH,PIPE,SHORING,BURIED,CAVE-IN,BRAIN
Event description
TWO EMPLOYEES DIED OF ASPHYXIA WHEN TRENCH CAVES IN
Investigation abstract
At approximately 4:15 p.m. on October 10,1989, Employees #1 and #2 were preparin g to weld a 10-ft section of a pipe in a trench approximately 20 feet long, 6 to 7 feet wide, and 8 feet deep. An unshored wall collapsed, burying Employees #1a nd #2 completely. Employee #1, who was buried for approximately 45 minutes, died of asphyxia at the scene. Employee #2, who was buried for approximately 25 minu tes, sustained brain damage from asphyxia. Employee #2 was hospitalized and died approximately one week later.
Victims (2)
-
#1 Fatality Age 43 M
- Nature of injury
- 2
- Part of body
- 4
- Event type
- 2
- Source
- 12
- Occupation code
- 558
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 13
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Fatality Age 36 M
- Nature of injury
- 2
- Part of body
- 4
- Event type
- 2
- Source
- 12
- Occupation code
- 599
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 13
- Task assigned
- 1
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.