31 workers reach safety after partial collapse of Los Angeles industrial tunnel
LOS ANGELES — Thirty-one construction workers inside a huge industrial tunnel in Los Angeles made it to safety after a portion of it collapsed Wednesday evening, an outcome officials called a blessing after they initially feared much worse.
The cave-in appears to have occurred between the tunnel boring machine 5 miles (8 kilometers) in from the sole entrance and the construction workers who were working 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) in, said Michael Chee, spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts, which is in charge of the nearly $700 million project. The workers were about 400 feet (121 meters) underground.
Authorities were still investigating the cause, Chee said.
The workers scrambled over loose soil more than 12 feet (19.3 meters) high to reach the tunnel boring machine and then were transported back to the opening. Aerial footage showed workers being brought out of the tunnel in a yellow cage hoisted up by a crane.
None of those rescued had major injuries, authorities said.
Arally Orozco said she was at church when her phone started buzzing with calls and then her son texted her the news of the tunnel where her three brothers worked.
“It was sad and scary,” she said in Spanish. “We feared the worst.”
After an hour, she managed to get through to one brother who told her they had to squeeze through a tight space to get out.
“My brother was crying,” she said. “He told me he thought he was going to die underground.”
LA City Councilmember Tim McOsker praised the workers for keeping cool heads.
“This is a highly technical, difficult project. And they knew exactly what to do. They knew how to secure themselves,” he said. “Thank goodness for the good people that were down in the tunnel.”
Mayor Karen Bass said at a news conference that she met with some of the workers.
“I know when we raced down here I was so concerned that we were going to find tragedy. Instead, what we found was victory,” Bass said. “All of the men that were in that tunnel, rescued, up, safe.”
The tunnel is being constructed almost entirely underneath public right-of-way. The structure is 18 feet (5.5 meters) wide and will be 7 miles (11.3 kilometers) long to carry treated wastewater from across Los Angeles County to the Pacific Ocean.
Work will not resume until the project contractor assesses what happened and deems the site safe, authorities said.
Where things stand with Trump’s National Guard deployments
The Trump administration has deployed or threatened to deploy National Guard troops in more than half a dozen American cities that it says are crime ridden.
Kimmel and Colbert appear as guests on each other’s shows
On Tuesday night, in New York City, they united in a special talk show crossover of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS.
A GOP push to restrict voting by overseas U.S. citizens continues before 2026 midterms
Republican officials are pushing for more voting restrictions on U.S. citizens who were born abroad and have never lived in the country, after unsuccessfully challenging their ballots in 2024.
Taylor Swift popularized fighting for masters. Are more artists getting ownership?
Taylor Swift turned masters ownership from a behind-the-scenes conversation into a mainstream debate about artist autonomy. But how has that fight influenced other artists in the music industry?
Federal agencies are rehiring workers and spending more after DOGE’s push to cut
Eight months after the Department of Government Efficiency effort to shrink the federal workforce began, some agencies are hiring workers back – and spending more money than before.
Poll: Agreement that political violence may be necessary to right the country grows
On hot button issues, a majority say children should be vaccinated; controlling gun violence is more important than gun rights; and Epstein files should be released, in a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.
