Latest news with #ClearwaterProject
Mint
10-07-2025
- General
- Mint
Miracle! All 31 workers rescued in Los Angeles tunnel collapse
Thirty-one construction workers miraculously escaped a collapsed tunnel in Los Angeles Wednesday night after climbing over a 12-foot mountain of debris. Trapped 400 feet underground and six miles from the only exit, the men scrambled through loose soil caused by 'squeezing ground', a dangerous soil deformation that partially collapsed a newly built section. Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva praised their courage, saying that the workers made it through the most treacherous part themselves before rescue teams drove them to safety via tunnel vehicles. Aerial footage showed workers being hoisted in yellow cages as families wept with relief below. Remarkably, no one suffered major injuries despite the terrifying cave-in. Arally Orozco was at church when her son texted that the tunnel housing her three brothers had collapsed. 'It was sad and scary. We feared the worst,' she shared. After an agonizing hour, her brother called crying: 'He told me he thought he was going to die underground' after squeezing through tight spaces to escape. At the scene, Mayor Karen Bass embraced rescued workers, calling the outcome 'a victory' after racing there expecting tragedy. Supervisor Janice Hahn noted the workers were 'shaken up' but relieved, immediately calling loved ones upon surfacing. The sanitation district's $700 million project, critical for replacing earthquake-vulnerable wastewater tunnels, is now paused indefinitely. The 18-foot-wide tunnel, part of LA's Clearwater Project, stretches beneath Wilmington's industrial zone near oil refineries. Engineers confirm the 400-foot depth near the shoreline created 'very wet conditions,' demanding specialized designs for water pressure. The new tunnel aims to replace 60- and 80-year-old wastewater pipes at risk of earthquakes, serving over five million residents. Water pressure risks: Coastal depth added complexity, requiring designs for both soil and water pressure "Squeezing ground" failure: Soil instability caused the collapse near the boring machine Months-long probe: Investigators must first stabilize the tunnel before finding 'the first element that broke", as per reports.
American Military News
10-07-2025
- General
- American Military News
Videos: 31 rescued after major tunnel collapsed in Los Angeles
Thirty-one construction workers were rescued on Wednesday night in Los Angeles, California, after a major tunnel collapse trapped them 300 feet below ground. In an update regarding Wednesday's rescue operation, the Los Angeles Fire Department said, '31 persons, all believed to be tunnel workers, have been safely removed from the tunnel alive without visible injury. None are missing. The collapse of the 18′ diameter tunnel, being constructed for municipal wastewater management, occurred at an underground (undetermined depth) horizontal excavation site about 5 to 6 miles south of the sole entry/rescue access portal.' The Los Angeles Fire Department added that preliminary reports indicated that the workers who were trapped in the tunnel were able to 'scramble with some effort over a 12-15′ tall (undetermined length) pile of loose soil,' where they met multiple coworkers on the opposite side of the tunnel collapse and were 'shuttled several at a time by tunnel vehicle to the entry/access point more than five miles distant.' READ MORE: Pics: Massive drug smuggling tunnel shut down by Border Patrol The New York Post reported that officials did not immediately confirm the cause of Wednesday's collapse and that officials were not sure how large the tunnel collapse was. The outlet noted that the trapped workers were hoisted back to the surface with cranes and that more than 100 first responders were deployed to the scene to aid the rescue effort and provide medical evaluations for the construction workers. A video of the rescue operation was shared on X, formerly Twitter. video via @ABC7 @abc7chriscristi of workers trapped in a tunnel collapse here in los angeles: stream – — Wyatt Stephens ⚛️ (@whyitscurations) July 10, 2025 According to an update on the Los Angeles County Sanitation District's Clearwater Project, the tunnel that collapsed on Wednesday is currently under construction as part of the city's waste management system under the $630.5 million Los Angeles Effluent Outfall Tunnel. The update noted that the tunnel shaft was initially opened in 2020, while mining on the project started in January of 2022. Sharing a video following Wednesday night's rescue operation, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tweeted, '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. You are L.A.'s true heroes.' 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. You are L.A.'s true heroes. — Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) July 10, 2025
International Business Times
10-07-2025
- Climate
- International Business Times
31 Workers Rescued After Tunnel Collapse in Los Angeles; No Injuries Reported
Thirty-one workers were safely rescued after a tunnel partially collapsed in Wilmington, Los Angeles, on Wednesday night. The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) responded quickly to the emergency inside the Los Angeles Effluent Outfall Tunnel—part of the $630.5 million Clearwater Project. The collapse was reported around 8 p.m. near South Figueroa Street and Q Street. The workers were deep underground, nearly 6 miles inside the tunnel and about 450 feet below the surface. Emergency responders, including LAFD's Urban Search and Rescue teams, were sent in to help. The collapse happened as a tunnel boring machine was in operation. A large amount of dirt, estimated at over 15 feet high, blocked part of the tunnel. Workers had to climb over this soil mound to reach safety. L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn confirmed all workers were rescued and had no visible injuries. Mayor Karen Bass praised the response, saying, "Thank you to our brave first responders. You are L.A.'s true heroes." According to LAFD Chief Villanueva, "A structural failure occurred 5 to 6 miles inside the tunnel. Workers made their way through debris before our teams assisted them out." The Clearwater Tunnel is a 7-mile-long, 18-foot-wide pipe meant to carry treated wastewater from the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant to the ocean. The tunnel is being built by Flatiron Dragados and replaces older systems from 1937 and 1958. Rescue teams faced tough conditions due to the tunnel's depth and distance from the entry point. Officials say the response was a major success, preventing a potential tragedy.
ARN News Center
10-07-2025
- Climate
- ARN News Center
All 31 workers escape uninjured after tunnel collapse in Los Angeles, officials say
All 31 workers escaped without injuries from a collapsed industrial tunnel in Los Angeles' Wilmington area, after scrambling over a tall pile of loose underground soil, city officials said late on Wednesday. The trapped workers were shuttled back to the tunnel's entry point, more than 8 km away from the affected area, after they escaped the collapsed section and met several coworkers in the unaffected part of the tunnel, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement. The tunnel, which had a diameter of 5.5 m, trapped 27 individuals, while four workers entered the damaged section to assist with rescue, LA Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva told reporters in a media briefing. "The workers had to climb through debris. They had to make themselves out through," before they were assisted out, Villanueva said. Robert Ferrante, chief engineer and general manager of Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, told the briefing that a section of the already built part of the tunnel experienced squeezing ground conditions and partially collapsed. "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 collapsed section was a part of the Los Angeles County's Clearwater Project, where the new 7-mile tunnel is being built to upgrade the region's sewer system, officials added.
MTV Lebanon
10-07-2025
- General
- MTV Lebanon
31 workers rescued after tunnel collapses in Wilmington
After a tunnel collapsed at a work site in Wilmington, 31 people were extricated uninjured, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. No workers remained unaccounted for in the collapse of an 18-foot-diameter tunnel. 'Preliminary reports are that the trapped workers were able to scramble with some effort over a 12-15' tall (undetermined length) pile of loose soil, to meet several coworkers on the other side of the collapse, and be shuttled several at a time by tunnel vehicle to the entry/access point more than five miles distant,' the LAFD said in a statement. Workers were removed from the tunnel shaft using an elevator system known as a bird cage, Michael Chee, spokesperson for the L.A. County Sanitation District, told The Times late Wednesday. The bird cage can carry up to eight people at a time and is the only way in and out of the tunnel, he said. The accident took place in a new tunnel construction project known as the Clearwater Project, which is designed to carry treated, clean wastewater from the Joint Water Pollution Control Plant to the ocean. The tunnel boring machine is six miles south of the plant, where it is being used to create a 25-foot-diameter tunnel, he said. This tunnel will replace existing tunnels of smaller diameter that have been in service for many decades. Around 10 p.m., 27 of the workers were being medically evaluated by LAFD paramedics at the scene for minor injuries. Prior to the accident, the tunnel was expected to reach Royal Palms Beach by the end of the year, at which point it would be seven miles long. The plant is the largest wastewater treatment plant owned and operated by L.A. County Sanitation Districts and the districts' only plant that discharges treated wastewater into the ocean. This is the first major incident that has taken place since construction on the project began in late 2019. Work on the tunnel itself started in 2021. Wednesday's incident, at 1701 N. Figueroa St. — the only entry point to the tunnel — was first reported around 8 p.m. More than 100 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel were assigned, among them search and rescue teams specially trained and equipped to handle confined-space tunnel rescues. It was feared the workers could have been trapped up to six miles south of the access point, according to the LAFD.
