HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A worker was killed and two others injured after a wall collapsed at a construction site in Lanikai Wednesday morning.
Rescue crews were called to a home on Mokulua Drive at 8:56 a.m. The first unit arrived minutes later.
According to the Honolulu Fire Department, a wall, approximately six-to-seven feet high, collapsed and buried a 58-year-old worker.
Two workers, ages 34 and 39, were trapped under debris but rescued and treated for serious leg injuries and transported to the emergency room, according to Emergency Medical Services.
The buried worker died at the scene despite efforts to revive him after pulling him out of the debris.
“His injuries, multisystem trauma, multiple injuries, not life sustaining and despite efforts, he was pronounced on scene,” said Shayne Enright, Emergency Medical Services public information officer.
Lanikai resident John Lindelow, who lives down the street, said, “I saw two of them were conscious, and sitting there. They were in shock, stunned, and one of them said that he couldn’t move his legs.
“Those were the survivors, and there was another man further down towards the ocean, and they were digging him out of the rubble,” Lindelow continued.
Neighbor Alex Gutierrez was the first on the scene to call 9-1-1 and tried to rescue the buried man.
“The wall had collapsed on top of him. So actually, you couldn’t see much of his body. We started pulling the bricks off,” he said. “I want to gonna send my condolences to the family members of the gentleman that passed.”
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families that were impacted this morning,” Enright said. “This type of call is very difficult and tragic for all that were involved, the first responders and the witnesses.”
Firefighters remained to help secure the scene and stabilize the remaining construction, according to Capt. Keopele Gowan, Honolulu Fire Department public information officer.
No HFD personnel were injured.
Aalapapa Drive and Pokole Way were temporarily shut down as police investigated the scene.
Its unclear what exactly happened. The workers were digging alongside the wall. Another worker building a new house in the site said they were digging a trench to pour a new concrete footing — to make the wall more stable. Neighbors said although it wasn’t raining at the time there were gusty winds that might have given it the fatal push.
“It fell down in a big sheet of a wall falling down,” Lindelow said.
The men and their company have not been identified. They were part of a masonry subcontractor on the project to build a second multi-million dollar home on the beachfront. The owners did not answer Hawaii News Now’s phone call.
On scene today were investigators from multiple agencies including the police, the state Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the city design and construction and building departments.
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