Abstract: Employee #1 was working in a 28 ft long by 12 ft deep trench that was by 2 1/2 ft wide at the base. He entered the trench by a ladder to move small dirt clods and had been down for approximately 1 minute when the north side caved in. Employee #1 was buried under approximately 8 ft of loose, dry dirt for between 15 and 25 minutes. Rescue crews used a backhoe and hand shovels to dig him out. Employee #1 sustained only minor contusions. The trench was neither sloped nor shored, and the employer did not have a trench box on the site; only the north side had a slight incline at a ratio of approximately 1/2 to 1.