Construction worker pulled alive from collapsed ditch in Republic

REPUBLIC, Mo. -- Three construction workers in a southwest Missouri subdivision used their bare hands to dig out a fourth man buried when the sides of a 9-foot deep trench collapsed Wednesday.

Patrick Coen, 54, of Ozark, was pulled out injured but alive.

"Most of the time, when there is a collapse, there are no survivors," said Barbara Theriot, area director for the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA is investigating the accident.

Coen was putting in sewer pipe for a new home in a Republic subdivision when the earthen walls collapsed.

Dustin Ladd and Verlon Richardson were cutting rafters for a new home on the other side of the cul-de-sac when a man ran up, hollering for help.

Ladd, Richardson and another co-worker hopped into the ditch and began digging the dirt away with their hands. Coen's exposed ponytail and cries for help guided them.

"He was beggin' us to get him cleared and get him out of there," Richardson said. "We thought we was gonna lose him."

Shortly after they unearthed the man's head, emergency responders arrived and began shoring up the trench to prevent a second cave-in, said Republic Fire Chief Duane Compton.

Coen had dislocated a shoulder and may have broken an arm and possibly one of his legs, the chief said.

Coen was taken to St. John's Hospital in Springfield, where his condition was not immediately available Thursday.

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Information from: the Springfield News-Leader www.news-leader.com