Two construction workers pronounced dead after tragic trench collapse
By JT Moodee Lockman
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BALTIMORE, Maryland (WJZ) — After more than seven hours, two construction workers were pronounced dead after becoming trapped in a trench in Catonsville Friday afternoon, per Baltimore County Fire officials.
The trapped workers had been in critical condition since the collapse, but many were still holding on to hope as rescue operations continued after sundown.
Officials said crews responded to the 500 block of Academy Road at 11:35 a.m. for a trench rescue.
According to fire officials, the two construction workers were reinforcing a retainer wall of bricks and stone when it fell on them, trapping them in a 6-foot trench.
About 50 to 60 fire and rescue personnel were on the scene around 12:30 p.m., according to Lt. Twana Allen.
Lt. Allen said the first step was to shore up the trench to ensure the dirt will not cave in on rescue workers or the trapped individuals. Officials then devised a plan to rescue the trapped workers.
“They have to remove that carefully so that when they do get to the patient, you know, it doesn’t create any further injury,” Allen told WJZ Reporter Stephon Dingle. “So there, it’s a calculated method and it does take time, but they want to make sure that they are doing so in the safest measures, which they are. Unfortunately, like I said, they are very well trained for this, and collaboration with Baltimore City Rescue and Howard County Rescue, you know, mutually, we always work well together with them as well.”
Shortly before 7:30 p.m., Baltimore County Fire Department announced the two workers had been extricated and were pronounced dead.
They have been identified as 24-year-old Emerson Amestica and 32-year-old Wilmer Barzallo.
Similar rescue efforts
Fire crews carried out a similar rescue effort in early February, removing a man and a child from icy water at Druid Ridge Cemetery in Pikesville. Both were stable when they were transported to a hospital.
In October 2024, a man was rescued a day after falling 30 feet into a well in Catonsville. Crews were able to pull the man out after he had spent almost 24 hours in the confined space. He was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
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