All 31 Workers Rescued After Tunnel Collapse in Los Angeles

In the wake of a massive tunnel collapse last night in Wilmington, CA, 31 construction workers were rescued with no apparent injuries. According to a statement from the Los Angeles Fire Department, several were lifted to safety by crane in a coordinated emergency operation.

The collapse took place approximately five miles from the tunnel’s only entry and exit point and about 400 feet below ground. Officials said the tunnel is part of a municipal wastewater infrastructure project.

Preliminary reports indicate the trapped workers climbed over a 12- to 15-foot pile of loose soil to reach coworkers on the other side. They were then transported via tunnel vehicle to the access shaft, the fire department said.

More than 100 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel, including Urban Search and Rescue teams, responded to the site in the Wilmington neighborhood, Mayor Karen Bass said in a post on X. Crews used cranes and rescue cages to lift workers to the surface.

At a press conference late Wednesday, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said the rescued workers were shaken but grateful to be alive. “We got to meet many of the men who were alive and happy, but they were all shaken up,” Hahn said. “It was quite traumatic for them to go through that.”

The collapse occurred while workers were operating a tunnel boring machine. A previously constructed section of tunnel gave way due to what’s known as “squeezing ground,” said Robert Ferrante, chief engineer and general manager of the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts. Squeezing ground refers to the deformation of soil or rock during excavation, often putting intense pressure on tunnel walls.

Ferrante explained that the workers had to return to the collapse point, walk through the damaged area, and then board a tunnel vehicle that brought them back to the shaft.

“It was a tense situation. Anytime you have a collapse in a tunnel behind you, there was only one way out at that time,” Ferrante said. “It’s to come back here to the shaft, so they had to come back and make their way through the damaged section of the tunnel. It was very scary, as I just want to reiterate, we’re very fortunate.”

The tunnel is part of the Clearwater Project, a Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts initiative to replace two aging effluent tunnels that carry treated wastewater to the ocean. The existing tunnels, 60 and 80 years old, do not meet modern seismic standards and must remain in service continuously. The new tunnel is being built almost entirely beneath public roadways. According to the county, it will serve over five million residents in the Los Angeles Basin, with completion targeted for 2027.

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