Man Buried Up to His Neck in Trench Collapse in Va. Has Died

A man who was buried up to his neck after the trench he was digging collapsed has died, according to the Clarke County, Virginia, Sheriff's Office.

Crews are working to recover his body.

The victim was digging a trench for a water line in Berryville when the dirt collapsed on him at about 10 a.m. Wednesday, said Chief Deputy Travis Sumption of the sheriff's office.

Police later identified the victim as 48-year-old Russell Allen Polen of Front Royal, Virginia.

Polen was an employee of Broy and Son Pump Service, which was contracted to repair an underground utility line at the trench, police said.

Chopper4 flew over the scene as rescue crews tried to free Polen from the dirt.

Berryville is near Maryland and West Virginia in northern Virginia, about 65 miles northwest of Washington, D.C.

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