31 construction workers reach safety after partial collapse of Los
Angeles industrial tunnel
[July 10, 2025]
By DAMIAN DOVARGANES and JULIE WATSON
LOS ANGELES
(AP) — Thirty-one construction workers inside a huge industrial tunnel
in Los Angeles made it to safety after a portion of it collapsed
Wednesday evening, an outcome officials called a blessing after they
initially feared much worse.
The cave-in
appears to have occurred between the tunnel boring machine 5 miles (8
kilometers) in from the sole entrance and the construction workers who
were working 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) in, said Michael Chee,
spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, which is
in charge of the nearly $700 million project. The workers were about 400
feet (121 meters) underground.
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From left, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, left, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell,
Congresswoman Nanette Barragan Los Angeles Council member Tim McOsker,
at microphone, and Supervisor Janice Hahn take questions from the media
after all the workers who were trapped in the Wilmington tunnel were out
and accounted, Wednesday, July 9, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian
Dovarganes) |
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Authorities were still investigating the cause, Chee said.
The workers scrambled over loose soil more than 12 feet (19.3
meters) high to reach the tunnel boring machine and then were
transported back to the opening. Aerial footage showed workers
being brought out of the tunnel in a yellow cage hoisted up by a
crane.
None of those rescued had major injuries, authorities said.
Arally Orozco said she was at church when her phone started
buzzing with calls and then her son texted her the news of the
tunnel where her three brothers worked.
“It was sad and scary,” she said in Spanish. “We feared the
worst.”
After an hour, she managed to get through to one brother who
told her they had to squeeze through a tight space to get out.
“My brother was crying,” she said. “He told me he thought he was
going to die underground.”
LA City Councilmember Tim McOsker praised the workers for
keeping cool heads.
“This is a highly technical, difficult project. And they knew
exactly what to do. They knew how to secure themselves,” he
said. “Thank goodness for the good people that were down in the
tunnel.”
Mayor Karen Bass said at a news conference that she met with
some of the workers.
“I know when we raced down here I was so concerned that we were
going to find tragedy. Instead, what we found was victory," Bass
said. "All of the men that were in that tunnel, rescued, up,
safe.”
The tunnel is being constructed almost entirely underneath
public right-of-way. The structure is 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide
and will be 7 miles (11.3 kilometers) long to carry treated
wastewater from across Los Angeles County to the Pacific Ocean.
Work will not resume until the project contractor assesses what
happened and deems the site safe, authorities said.
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