Dozens of workers rescued in Los Angeles tunnel collapse

Thirty-one workers were rescued, some hoisted to safety in a cage, after a tunnel collapsed at a Los Angeles construction project Wednesday night, officials said and video showed.

There were no injuries in the incident in the Wilmington section of the city, where a wastewater management project was underway, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

“Tonight, we were lucky,” interim Fire Chief Ronnie Villanueva told reporters. More than 100 firefighters responded, he said.

The collapse of the 18-foot in diameter tunnel was reported at 7:58 p.m., Villanueva said. It occurred around 5 to 6 miles away from the entrance, the fire department said.

Helicopter video from NBC Los Angeles showed a large circular concrete structure at the site, leading to a work area below with construction equipment.

A crane lifted a yellow cage with some workers inside at least twice, dropping them safely on the surface, the video showed.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAfter surviving a botched lethal injection, Christa Pike faces unprecedented legal battle

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHunger in a land of plenty: Major food banks face ‘heartbreaking’ need, NBC News survey finds

FOR SUBSCRIBERSInflation and tariffs push U.S. holiday spending projections to a record $1.7 trillion

FOR SUBSCRIBERSWhat happened inside the room where officials tried to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow we reported the saga of the CIA officer and his gold-bar stash

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘We’re going to beat you to death with audits’: Brad Raffensperger gears up to oversee his final election in Georgia

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDiddy is punished following NBC News report on his VIP life in prison and contraband cellphone use

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Too young to vote, old enough to be tear gassed’: French protesters’ anger swells

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDOJ gets aggressive in suing states that challenge Trump’s immigration policies

FOR SUBSCRIBERSJustice Department seeks criminal charge for former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘I just want to hold him’: USS Lincoln sailor to meet his 10-month-old son as ship docks

FOR SUBSCRIBERSSenate candidates run on raising Social Security taxes for higher incomes to prevent benefit cuts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRussian operation that used ChatGPT tricked schools, a politician and media, OpenAI says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump administration’s deal with Nevada fuels data center fight in governor’s race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSLatino voters reject Trump’s immigration policies — and detail the personal impact

Slide 1 of 1

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAfter surviving a botched lethal injection, Christa Pike faces unprecedented legal battle

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHunger in a land of plenty: Major food banks face ‘heartbreaking’ need, NBC News survey finds

FOR SUBSCRIBERSInflation and tariffs push U.S. holiday spending projections to a record $1.7 trillion

FOR SUBSCRIBERSWhat happened inside the room where officials tried to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection

FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow we reported the saga of the CIA officer and his gold-bar stash

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘We’re going to beat you to death with audits’: Brad Raffensperger gears up to oversee his final election in Georgia

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDiddy is punished following NBC News report on his VIP life in prison and contraband cellphone use

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Too young to vote, old enough to be tear gassed’: French protesters’ anger swells

FOR SUBSCRIBERSDOJ gets aggressive in suing states that challenge Trump’s immigration policies

FOR SUBSCRIBERSJustice Department seeks criminal charge for former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson

FOR SUBSCRIBERS‘I just want to hold him’: USS Lincoln sailor to meet his 10-month-old son as ship docks

FOR SUBSCRIBERSSenate candidates run on raising Social Security taxes for higher incomes to prevent benefit cuts

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRussian operation that used ChatGPT tricked schools, a politician and media, OpenAI says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump administration’s deal with Nevada fuels data center fight in governor’s race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSLatino voters reject Trump’s immigration policies — and detail the personal impact

Slide 1 of 1

Twenty-seven workers were trapped after the collapse, and four others went in to assist, Villanueva said.

"The workers had to climb through debris" and rescuers came to them to help them out, Villanueva said.

The fire department said that preliminary reports indicated the workers had to scramble over a 12-to-15-foot-tall pile of loose soil after the collapse to meet rescuers.

The workers were operating a tunnel boring machine when the collapse occurred, Robert Ferrante, chief engineer and general manager for the Los Angeles County Sanitation District, told reporters.

“A section that they have already built had squeezing ground and had a collapse, a partial collapse,” he said. The men were able to reach a vehicle that took them to the shaft site, he said.

Mayor Karen Bass went to the scene and said she was relieved all the workers were safe. She called the first responders "L.A.’s true heroes.”

"I was so concerned that we were going to find tragedy. Instead, what we found was victory," Bass said.

Wilmington is a neighborhood in the South Bay area of Los Angeles, near the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach.