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SOMERSET, N.J. (AP) — A 7-foot trench has collapsed outside a New Jersey home, killing a Maryland man who was working in a drainage ditch.
The accident occurred at around 4 p.m. Monday in Franklin Township.
Authorities say firefighters found the 43-year-old Salisbury man buried in the trench when they arrived at the home. Five other workers were nearby when the accident occurred, and they tried to free him after the walls of the hole gave way.
Firefighters soon built shoring to extricate the man, and he was freed after about two hours. But he was pronounced dead shortly after 6 p.m.
Authorities say the house was under construction and the workers were digging a trench for utilities.
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