Construction Worker Killed After 15-Foot Trench Collapses Around Him

Second trench-related death in the region in two days

A 36-year-old construction worker died Tuesday morning when he fell into a 15-foot-deep hole and the dirt collasped around him.

Juan Francisco Cerna Alfaro of Falls Church was part of a four-person crew renovating a home at 1051 Kinglet Court in McLean, Va., said Fairfax County Fire and Rescue. Alfaro was operating a small backhoe when he somehow fell into the hole around 10 a.m., Dan Schmidt of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue told News4's Megan McGrath.

Technical rescue workers arrived quickly but were not able to save him.

It's unknown if there were reinforcements in the hole, Schmidt said.

Crews were still working to recover the victim's body during the afternoon and the scene was cleared just after 9 p.m.

There is no word on the name of the construction company involved.

This is the second trench-related death in the region in two days. On Monday, a 25-year-old construction worker died in a cave-in in Severn, Md.

That man was believed to be alone in the seven-foot-deep trench when the dirt collapsed and buried him, said the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. It took three and a half hours to remove his body.

Fairfax County Police and the Virginia Department of Healt and Occupational Safety will investigate the incident, Schmidt said

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