One worker died after being buried in a trench while working on a building site in calle de Iquitos in the San Blas district of Madrid. His brother was miraculously rescued from the rubble unharmed.
Three men, all brothers, were working on the site with two of them in a trench about one and a half metres deep when a collapse occurred, buring the two men under 20 cubic metres of rubble and concrete. It is thought that the recent rains had rendered the wooden supports ineffective.
As firemen worked carefully to remove the rubble they heard a voice and were able to manufacture a blowhole to allow the trapped man to breath while they continued their work. Medics administered oxygen via the blowhole. The man is now under observation in hospital.
The rescue operation took three hours, firemen being unable to use bulldozers or other equipment for fear of injuring the buried men. The brother who died is thought to have been asphyxiated immediately after the accident.
Health technicians from the CCOO and UGT unions at the scene are reported as saying that many construction firms are cutting budgets for projects at the expense of the health and safety of the workers.