A man was reported to be buried inside of a 52’ dump truck style trailer at 4:52 p.m. in New Victoria, Nova Scotia on June 15, 2020.
The incident happened as debris from a demolished home at the corner of Browns Road was being loaded into the back of a McDonald Trucking Ltd trailer. The operator of the excavator on-site didn’t know somebody was inside the trailer and started filling it with wood and concrete fragments, trapping the man underneath.
New Victoria Police, New Victoria Volunteer Fire Department, Cape Breton Regional Police and Emergency Health Services all responded to the scene. The trapped man was conscious and able to communicate with rescuers on his location inside the trailer when they arrived.
A plan was quickly formed by the rescue team to try to free the man.
The volume of debris prevented firefighters from reaching the man from the top of the trailer. After this attempt, a small hole was cut into the side of the trailer. When the exact location of the man was confirmed, a larger hole was cut and he was freed from the debris at 5:25 p.m.
He remained conscious and was transported to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital at 5:45 p.m.
The man’s name, age and status of injuries has not been released. A stop-work order has been issued for the site and the Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Advanced Education is currently investigating the situation.