Abstract: Employee #1 and his employer, both welders, were working in a 12-ft deep excavation. They were cutting a section out of an old, 36-in.-diameter water pipe so that they could weld a connection to a new water pipe. One bank of the excavation collapsed. Employee #1 was buried to his shoulders and pinned between the soil and the water pipe. He sustained several broken ribs, a broken collarbone and other internal injuries. The employer had been partially covered and suffered sprains and bruises. The collapse resulted from inadequate sloping of the bank and failure to take other protective measures.