AREA MAN DIES AFTER TRENCH COLLAPSES AROUND HIM

JACKSON, Mo. -- A 66-year-old-man died Tuesday when the sides of a 15-foot trench for a sewer pipe caved in and buried him, officials said.

The man, whose name was withheld pending notification of relatives, was an employee of Monroe Plumbing and Heating in Cape Girardeau, said Steve Baugh, public information officer with the Jackson Fire Department.

The man was working in the trench about 2:30 p.m. when the accident occurred.

"We were told that he was completely buried," Baugh said.

When firefighters arrived at the intersection of Seabaugh Road and Lenco Avenue, about 10 people with shovels had managed to dig the man out to his waist. He was unconscious, Baugh said.

The seven firefighters finished removing the dirt and pulled the man up on a backboard made more secure with a wire mesh called a "Stokes basket." He was taken by ambulance to Southeast Missouri Hospital, where he later died from a crushed chest and suffocation, said Mike Hurst, Cape Girardeau County Coroner.