Less than a year after the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration said it was encouraged by a drop in trench-collapse deaths, the agency is urging employers to safeguard workers after seeing a recent rise in fatalities.
OSHA reports there have been 11 trench-related fatalities in 2025. The day of its news release, a worker died in a cave-in in Arizona, bringing the total number of deaths to at least 12. That’s the same number of deaths OSHA had reported for 2024 in November of last year, when it said it was encouraged by the decline from previous years.
In all, there were 13 trench-collapse deaths in 2024, according to OSHA and media reports – a decline from 15 in 2023 and 2022’s record 39 fatalities.
OSHA noted in its July 28 news release that cave-ins can be prevented when following required safety procedures, like using trench boxes when excavating. The release pointed to recent trench collapses in the Midwest, but other regions of the country have also seen fatal cave-ins this year.
There have also been at least 11 workers rescued from trench collapses in 2025, some of whom were seriously injured. Successful rescues are rare, as soil collapses rapidly, with 1 cubic yard weighing as much as a car. Even when workers aren’t completely buried, they can suffer compression injuries that can be severe, even fatal.
12 Fatalities
Here’s an overview of the 12 deaths from trench collapse in 2025 as of July 31:
- July 28: Ronald Baquera Jr., 44, died after becoming trapped inside a 6-foot-deep trench at a worksite in Goodyear, Arizona.
- July 24: Francisco Rodriguez, 54, died in a cave-in of a 25-foot-deep trench in Kansas City, Kansas. Workers were installing fiber-optic cable when they discovered Rodriquez was missing.
- July 22: Luis Medrano, 50, was digging when water began spraying up into the trench causing a cave-in in Owings Mills, Maryland. The incident occurred at the construction site for a new elementary school.
- June 18: Abraham Gomez Cruz, 38, died at the hospital following a trench collapse in Morbank, Texas.
- June 13: Michael DiRocco Sr., 60, was partially buried in a 5-foot-deep trench that caved in on a residential sewer-line installation project in Norwich, Connecticut. He died at the hospital.
- April 10: A worker died in the hospital after a trench collapse in Ashburn, Virginia.
- February 28: Emerson Amestica, 24, and Wilmer Barzallo, 32, died after becoming trapped in a trench collapse in Catonsville, Maryland. They were in a 6-foot-deep trench reinforcing a brick and stone retaining wall when the wall collapsed on them.
- February 17: Anthony Marquet Hollowman, 53, died in a trench collapse for a waterline project in Newberry, South Carolina. The trench was 6 feet deep.
- February 12: A 34-year-old senior foreman pipefitter died in a trench collapse at Jellystone Campground in Sanilac County, Michigan. The trench was reportedly 8 feet deep for a sewer installation project.
- February 5: An 8-foot-deep trench collapsed in Houston, Texas, trapping two workers. One worker escaped. Coworkers pulled the other from the trench and performed CPR, but he died at the scene.
- January 15: A 54-year-old worker was buried under more than 2 feet of soil after the collapse of a 12-foot-deep trench in St. George, Utah.
12 Rescued
Here’s an overview of the 11 workers rescued in 2025 as of July 31:
- July 19: A worker was rescued from a 7-foot-deep trench that caved in July 19 in Clarksville, Tennessee.
- July 14: Two workers were rescued from a 30-foot-deep trench that collapsed in Sunbury, Ohio. The workers were not seriously injured when the trench for utility work collapsed, according to the BST&G Fire District.
- July 1: A worker was rescued form a trench collapse in Anderson, South Carolina.
- May 20: A worker suffered traumatic injury to his foot after a 10-foot-deep trench collapsed in Dorchester County, South Carolina.
- May 8: A 33-year-old worker was rescued from an 8-foot-deep trench after four hours of being buried from the waist down in Bridgewater, New Jersey. He was airlifted to a hospital for treatment.
- May 7: An unconscious worker trapped in a trench collapse was rescued in Chandler, Arizona. He was treated for serious injuries at the hospital.
- March 19: Two workers were injured in a trench collapse in Powder Springs, Georgia. One was able to exit the trench on his own, but the other had to be rescued. Both were taken to the hospital.
- February 25: Two workers were rescued from a trench collapse in Wyandotte, Michigan. They were replacing a residential sewer line and down about 15 feet when the ground gave way beneath them. Both were reportedly in stable condition after the incident.
- February 21: A worker was rescued from a trench collapse in Durham, North Carolina. His legs were buried when rescuers arrived.
