SALEM TWP. - A man was rescued and flown to a hospital and another man died when a trench about seven to eight feet collapsed at a camp ground construction site Thursday morning.
click image to enlargeFamily members of the victims of a trench accident console one another at the scene of the incident.
Aimee Dilger / The Times Leader
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Ann Yalowe, of Berwick, said her uncle, Steve Bodnar, was one of two men buried when the trench collapsed at the Bodnarosa Motel and Camp Site at state Route 11 and Confers Lane just before 9 a.m.
Yalowe said Bodnar owned the land and was building small log cabins and a motel.
Rescue crews from multiple departments worked tirelessly for more than an hour to remove Bodnar from the collapsed trench.. He was transported by Berwick Ambulance at about 10:22 a.m. to Geisinger Life Flight and flown to a hospital.
"It feels good that my uncle is doing okay," Yalowe said. "I'm trying to stay strong."
Yalowe said the man who died was an employee.
The Luzerne County Coroner's Office identified the deceased man as 35-year old James Berry, of Berwick. An autopsy is scheduled for Friday morning.
Salem Township fire fighter Travis Petty said the trench that collapsed is about six to eight feet deep.
"There were a couple of guys working in the trench that collapsed around them," Petty said. "There is one that expired."
Petty said one of the difficulties in the rescue was making sure the trench was secure.
Rescue crews placed make-shift boards and planks along the trench wall to shore it up.
"We had to make scene secure and safe; shore up the trench and started digging and doing everyone we could," Petty said.
There are two trenches at the construction site being dug for underground utilities and pipes. The trench that collapsed is along a hillside while the other trench is closer to Route 11 and measures about five to six feet deep, and 10 feet by 15 feet wide.
Route 11 was closed for nearly three hours and has reopened. Reports indicate there is a three to four mile backup in the southbound lanes of Route 11.
POSTED: 10:07 a.m.
SALEM TWP. - One person has died and another was seriously injured when a trench collapsed at a construction site just off state Route 11 Thursday morning.
The Luzerne County Coroner's Office have been called to the scene where the Bodnarosa Camp Site is under construction near the intersection of Confers Lane.
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