Inspection Detail

Inspection: 14964290 - Sangre De Cristo Water Co

Inspection Information - Office: State Of New Mexico Environment Department Occupational Health & Safety Bureau

Investigation Summary

Employees #1 through #3 were in a 10 ft trench in a road bed across a sandy arroyo. They were using a backhoe and hand tools to connect a water pipe. The backhoe operator had struck a solid object and one laborer was digging to find it when the wall next to the spoil pile collapsed and buried the three employees. Employee #1 was killed, and Employees #2 and #3 were injured. The trench was inadequately sloped, and it was neither braced nor shored. The spoil pile was against the trench, and there was some motor vehicle traffic adjacent to the trench.

Keywords: WORK RULES, VIBRATIONS, SHORING, BRACING, CAVE-IN, CONSTRUCTION, TRENCH, SLOPING, BURIED