Worker buried up to neck rescued in Utah County

A man was rescued in Cedar Hills after a collapse Tuesday at a construction site left him buried up to his neck before he was airlifted from the scene.

The American Fork Fire Department was dispatched to the site of a home in the area of 9969 North 4000 West. There they found the worker, a 20-year-old man, buried up to his chin after a 10-foot trench collapsed.

Video below shows crews in backyard of home (Lacy Saiz):

Fire officials said the worker was a private contractor working on a sewer line with a team of three others.

The Utah Valley Metro Special Response Team was called in, and with the help of a vacuum truck to remove the dirt from the ditch, the man was rescued and transported via medical helicopter in serious condition.

Video below shows man being loaded into medical helicopter (Lacy Saiz):

Between 40 and 50 first responders were dispatched to the site to facilitate the man's rescue.

"I think our victim was very lucky," said American Fork Battalion Chief Justin Whatcott. "Our crews did very good and rapid work to get him removed."

It's not yet known what caused the collapse, but Whatcott added that OSHA teams would investigate the incident.

The situation comes one day after firefighters and other Utah County crews participated in specialized training to learn about how to handle a rescue in a trench collapse.