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Man Rescued After Falling into Construction Trench In Aurora

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4) - Rescue crews in Aurora pulled a man from a trench Thursday morning after he had walked into a construction zone.

Firefighters say the man was walking along the road when he fell into a 15-foot hole at the intersection of 30th Avenue and Peoria Street just before noon.

trench rescue map
(credit: CBS)

The man was conscience and able to communicate with rescue crews from the bottom of the hole, but unable to move or help in his own rescue.

Trench Rescue
An image from the scene (credit: Glenn McReynolds)

Authorities are still trying to figure out how he could have fallen into the trench in what was a well-marked construction area.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene near the intersection.

"When I was getting off the bus, it had just happened, I really thought it was a worker," said witness Brenda Mansker. "It was just like never-ending sires and it was like, 'What is going on?'"

After he was pulled from the hole he was transported to a hospital in stable condition and does not appear to have any life-threatening injuries, according to the Aurora Fire Department.

"The gentleman was alert and awake the entire time," said a spokeswoman with the Aurora Fire Department. "He was unable to extricate himself from the hole with assistance so we helped him out of the hole with a rope system."

"I noticed when he left his arms were moving and I thought, 'Well, they got him out of there,'" said witness Linda Denke.

The man was in a construction zone and shouldn't have been in that area.

"I was out here twice last week and they have been doing this construction since February and I've been out here several times and I've never fallen through the hole," said Mansker.

Peoria Street was closed from 23rd to 30th avenues during the rescue. The roads were reopened after the rescue.

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