By Associated Press
NEW PLYMOUTH, Idaho (AP) — The Payette County Sheriff’s Office says two people are dead after a trench collapsed in a rural southwestern Idaho.
Payette County Sheriff’s Lt. Andy Creech says the men were working for a private company installing irrigation pipes Wednesday morning when the trench they were in collapsed. Three different fire departments, paramedics, law enforcement officers, highway department workers and a private construction company worked to extricate the men, but emergency workers were not able to resuscitate them.
Neither the name of the men nor the name of the company they were working for have been released.
It’s not clear whether the workers were using a trench box or other safety equipment when the collapse occurred.
The region is under a flood watch, but authorities say the collapse is not related to flooding. It remains under investigation.
The incident is strikingly similar to one in Teton County, Wyoming last fall. That accident killed two local men and is currently in civil litigation.
