Wall collapses in California, trapping construction workers

Associated Press WriterCARSON, Calif. (AP) -- A wall collapsed at a construction site Thursday, trapping nine workers about 30 feet underground and impaling two of them on steel rods, fire officials said.

Seven were freed after the 8:20 a.m. accident, but there could be fatalities among the remaining two believed buried in the rubble, fire officials said.

"There's bent steel and rebar sticking out all over the place," said Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Roland Sprewell.

Sprewell said two of the freed victims had been impaled on rebar -- the steel rods used to reinforce concrete -- and were being treated at the scene for serious injuries.

The other rescued workers had minor injuries.

The people were "trapped by a cement decking that came down on top of the workers" at a wastewater treatment plant in the city 15 miles south of Los Angeles, county fire Inspector Mike Brown said.

The rescue effort was hampered by unstable rubble that included wet concrete mixed with other construction material.

Rescuers were using a crane to lift firefighters and equipment to the site. A thermal-imaging camera was brought in to detect body heat from the two people who remained trapped.

The accident occurred while Kiewitt Pacific Co. was building "digesters" to store sewage at the plant. Two of the large cylindrical tanks had been completed, but a third collapsed after workers started pouring concrete atop the structure, said Don Avila, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sanitation District.

"Workers who were on top were trying to get off but some did not make it," he said.