Officials revealed new details to KTLA on Thursday morning regarding the frightening tunnel collapse in Los Angeles’ Wilmington neighborhood, which resulted in a large rescue mission to recover dozens of trapped workers on Wednesday night.
It was just before 8 p.m. Wednesday night when LAFD crews responded to the initial report of the collapse at the industrial tunnel on the 1700 block of South Figueroa Street. The tunnel was filled with workers at the time, who were located about 400 feet beneath the surface and around six miles away from the tunnel’s only access point.
Ronnie Villanueva, the Los Angeles City Fire Department’s interim chief, explained that the collapse happened after what’s only being described as “a structure failure,” while further details remain under investigation. “The tunnel lining failed approximately five to six miles in, trapping what we thought was 27 individuals — but four more went in to rescue — so a total of 31,” said Villanueva.
Over 100 LAFD responders came to the scene to help with the tricky rescue. Some workers who were separated inside the tunnel had to climb over a 12-to-15-foot pile of loose soil to escape and join their colleagues on the other side.
“Material did obstruct their exit from the tunnel,” said Michael Chee of the L.A. County Sanitation District. “But fortunately, the tunnel is 18 feet in diameter, so even though the material did come down from the top, there was enough space for them to clamber over that material, and then it was a five-mile walk or transit out of the tunnel from there.”
They were then brought up in groups of eight using a crane, and, by 9:20 p.m., all 31 of the workers were safely extricated and evaluated by paramedics. Many were seen hugging each other, and no injuries were reported.
“We’re all blessed today in Los Angeles,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “No one injured, everyone is safe, and I am feeling very, very good that this is a great outcome in what started as a very scary evening.”
Officials told KTLA’s Carlos Herrera that the wastewater tunnel site is part of the L.A. County Sanitation District’s Clearwater Project, which spans seven miles, 200 feet underground — and that it’s meant to help modernize wastewater infrastructure. In addition, it’s expected to end at Royal Palms Beach in San Pedro.
For now, however, work on the $700 million project has been halted.
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