Thursday, July 10, 2025 - All 31 workers have been rescued after an industrial tunnel in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, July 9, city officials said.
The tunnel that collapsed had a diameter of 18 feet and was
being constructed for municipal wastewater management, the Los
Angeles Fire Department said in a statement.
"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," Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass
said in a post on X.
The collapse occurred about 5 to 6 miles south of the entry
point, with preliminary LAFD reports stating the trapped workers were able
"to scramble with some effort" over up to 15 feet of loose soil to
meet co-workers on the other side of the collapse.
LAFD said the workers were then "shuttled" several
at a time via a tunnel vehicle to the entry point.
Interim fire chief Ronnie Villanueva told reporters
during a press conference that "tonight, we were lucky."
"We were very luck this time.
Bass said she raced to site after hearing of the tunnel
collapse and was expecting to be confronted by a tragedy.
"Instead, what we found was victory," she said.
"We're all blessed today in Los Angeles. No one
injured, everyone safe and I'm feeling very, very good that this is a great
outcome in what started as a very scary evening."
The tunnel is part of the nearly $630-million Los
Angeles' Clearwater Project aimed at protecting local waters by investing
in new infrastructure, including the construction of a 7-mile, 18-foot diameter
tunnel to transport clean water from the A.K. Warren Water Resource Facility to
existing ocean outfalls in the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The project received a
$441 million investment from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2022.
"We must never forget these large infrastructure
projects require workers that take great risks," Rep. Nanette Barragan,
who represents the area, said during the press conference.
More than 100 LAFD responders were assigned to the rescue
mission, it said.
The cause of the collapse will be investigated, officials said.
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