Worker trapped under rubble after construction accident in Kentucky

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Firefighters in Kentucky’s largest city worked Thursday to rescue a person trapped under rubble at a construction site near the city’s center.

Officials with the Louisville Fire Department say a construction worker fell into a void just before noon Thursday and some debris fell on him. The worker is talking to rescuers but cannot move, said Louisville Fire Chief Brian O’Neill. The worker is about 10 to 12 feet (3 to 3.7 meters) underground, O’Neill said.

There were six other workers on site when the man fell. They were working on the site of a former corrections building that is being demolished to make way for a medical campus.

O’Neill said firefighters arrived on the scene within three minutes and began conducting a trench rescue. Workers will attempt to remove debris from around the man’s arms and chest so he can receive medical attention, the chief said.

The rescue could take hours, O’Neill said.

“This is a very, very slow process,” he said.

Earlier this week, just a few miles away, a factory in Louisville exploded, killing two workers and damaging dozens of nearby homes. The cause of the explosion is not yet known.