31 workers rescued from LA wastewater tunnel collapse 300 feet underground

The Los Angeles Fire Department posted in an alert on the rescue operation, "31 persons, all believed to be tunnel workers, have been safely removed from the tunnel alive without visible injury. None are missing. The collapse of the 18' diameter tunnel, being constructed for municipal wastewater management, occurred at an underground (undetermined depth) horizontal excavation site about 5 to 6 miles south of the sole entry/rescue access portal."

"Preliminary reports are that the trapped workers were able to scramble with some effort over a 12-15' tall (undetermined length) pile of loose soil, to meet several coworkers on the other side of the collapse, and be shuttled several at a time by tunnel vehicle to the entry/access point more than five miles distant," the statement then added.

Officials were not sure of how the collapse occurred, per the New York Post, and a crane was used to pull workers out of the tunnel as they were shuttled to the access point. LA Mayor Karen Bass responded on X after all had been retrieved.

"LAFD has just reported that all workers who were trapped in the tunnel in Wilmington are now out and accounted for. I just spoke with many of the workers who were trapped. Thank you to all of our brave first responders who acted immediately. You are L.A.'s true heroes," Bass wrote, and posted a video of her shaking hands with the workers.

The project is part of the city's waste management system and is part of the $630.5 million Los Angeles Effluent Outfall Tunnel. The shaft was first opened in 2020 and mining began in January 2022. The tunnel is planned to go for 7 miles underground from Carson to Royal Palms Beach.