Investigation underway into deadly trench collapse in Boonton, NJ
BOONTON, N.J. (WABC) -- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has launched an investigation into Wednesday's trench collapse in Boonton, New Jersey that killed two construction workers.
Two members of a landscaping crew died after they were trapped in a large, excavated hole outside a home.
OSHA officials say the employer involved is Boonton-based Bednar Landscape Serivces, Inc, which does not have any noted safety hazards in OSHA's database.
An OSHA spokeswoman said, "Trenching deaths caused by cave-ins are completely preventable if employers follow OSHA's excavation standards and provide protective systems."
The agency has six months to complete its investigation and release its findings.
The victims were described as hard-working family men who will be truly missed by all who knew them.
The numbing pain is just beginning to settle in for Nelson Andrade's family.
His cousin Oscar Portillo was among a crew excavating a French drain at the home when the ten foot trench began to collapse on them.
Witnesses say another worker, Selvin Zelaya, jumped back in the pit to try and save Oscar, but both never made it out.
"This is so hard, we are a very close-knit family. If something happens to one, it happens to all of us. We are very distraught. No words can express how we feel," Andrade said through a translator.
It's a selfish and heroic act that's prompted a local Spanish restaurant on Main Street to help raise money to send Selvin's body back to Honduras.
Rescuers from across North Jersey spent hours at the sprawling property on Rockaway Valley Road, where frantic family members waited for word on the trapped workers.
A community of contractors quickly gathered to lend moral support to one another.
"It's my worker's brother. It's very important to me make sure everything's OK. Wish everything turns out good. It's the last thing you want to hear," a contractor said.
But as darkness fell, the rescue became a recovery with special vacuum trucks called in to suck out tons of dirt.
By the time workers reached the men, it was too late to save their lives.
"It's a very difficult situation, but we do have crisis counselors meeting with family now, and we're trying to give them as much support as we can," said Chief Paul Fortunato, of the Boonton Township Police.
