Louisville leaders praise first responders who rescued man trapped under rubble
By Jamie Mayes
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LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — In a rescue operation that spanned more than eight hours, first responders rescued a man trapped in a void space at a construction site in downtown Louisville.
The incident occurred near the 300 block of East Chestnut Street. The former community correctional center there is being demolished to make way for the future site of LOUMED Commons.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg says he was proud of the first responders at the scene.
“Louisville, we are fortunate to have the hardworking, amazing men and women of the Louisville Fire Department. They have once again given us tremendous heroic work and saved the life of an individual who was in grave jeopardy,” Greenberg said.
The Louisville Fire Department received the call before noon on Thursday. A worker had fallen into a void space and was buried in rubble just above his head. Throughout the afternoon and into the night, rescue crews worked diligently to remove rocks and create a clear path to safely extract the worker from the ground.
Fire crews were communicating with him via translator, as he doesn’t speak English.
Fire Chief Bryan O’Neil says this was a long process.
“Now, if you can think about what this involves. There is gravel. There is dirt. There are large chunks of concrete, so you’re talking tons and tons of materials which has this worker pinned, and we’re having to slowly dig it out by hand,” O’Neil said.
Among the onlookers was Shannon Cooper, who watched the rescue efforts from a nearby parking garage.
“It’s amazing the safety protocols they go through to make sure that our firefighters are safe in order to rescue this individual,” Cooper said.
The worker, who was trapped for hours, was successfully rescued and was reported to be talking and alert. However, we’re still waiting to learn more about the extent of his injuries.
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