2 die in trench collapse at sewage treatment facility

MILLSTADT -- Emergency workers recovered the bodies of two workers killed when the sides of a trench they were working in collapsed, trapping them under mounds of dirt.

Brian Donley, a deputy chief for the St. Clair Special Emergency Services, says the trench caved in around 3 p.m. Monday during construction to install a new sewer line.

Donley says it took rescuers hours to dig deep enough in the trench, which was 8 to 10 feet deep and made up of dirt and clay, to access both workers.

The nature of the collapse was large enough that one victim was not visible upon arrival of rescue crews. It several hours for workers to dig down and get access to both of them.

Donley says he did not know why the trench collapsed, nor did he know what safety precautions were followed.