UPDATE, 2:15 p.m. | Police have identified the worker as Kansas City, Kansas, resident Francisco Rodriguez, 54.
A police spokesperson said the department has opened a death investigation into the case and is working with the Occupational Safety Health Administration and other agencies.
UPDATE, 2:30 a.m. Friday, July 25 | KCKFD says the body of the worker was recovered at approximately 11:45 p.m. Thursday. The worker was pronounced dead on the scene. The victim and scene have been turned over to the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department.
UPDATE, 10 p.m. Thursday, July 24 | KCKFD spokesperson said Kansas City, Missouri, firefighters are on the scene to help in the recovery effort.
Teams of firefighters are working in the hole in 20-minute shifts.
The worker has not been found.
Shoring equipment was brought to the scene to make the hole safe for firefighters to operate in.
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ORIGINAL REPORT | A trench collapse trapped a worker installing fiber optic cable Thursday afternoon in Kansas City, Kansas.
A KCKFD spokesperson said crews received a call around 2 p.m. that a worker was trapped in a trench in the area of S. 16th Street and Metropolitan Avenue.
When they arrived, co-workers told rescue crews that they hadn't seen the worker in some time and grew concerned when they saw that the excavator the worker had been operating was no longer moving.
The co-workers went over to the site when they discovered the trench had collapsed.
The spokesperson said the trench is located on uneven terrain and estimated the size to be between 16 and 18 feet and up to 25 feet deep.
"This is a highly complex and dangerous operation," KCKFD spokesperson and Assistant Chief Scott Schaunaman said in a release.
Schaunaman said rescue crews are working to stabilize the trench and allow additional equipment to help locate the worker.
"We ask the community to please keep the missing worker, his family, and his co-workers in your thoughts during this extremely different time," the spokesperson said.
It was unclear if the trench was equipped with a trench box.
The spokesperson said crews might remain on the scene for an extended period of time.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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