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A construction worker has died after being buried up to his shoulders in a sinkhole on Detroit’s east side this afternoon.

Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens Bell said the 36-year-old Detroit man, who was not identified, was working on a residential road reconstruction project when the road collapsed and debris, mud and a slab of concrete fell on him. The man was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Firefighters, police and crews from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department used a ladder and giant suction machine to pull the man from the sinkhole on Healy just south of 7 Mile shortly before 5:15 p.m., said Detroit Fire Battalion Chief Larry Gordon. The effort took more than an hour and a half.

“He was trapped in a muddy mire, almost like quicksand,” Gordon said.

After the man was pulled free, two shovels, an abandoned yellow ladder and the arm of an earth mover remained in the hole.

Sean Reams, 35, said he was one of several neighbors who rushed to the man’s aid. He said the man was conscious and talking, even asking for air.

“A neighbor knocked on the door and said a guy’s buried, so I did what came naturally and went to help,” Reams said, noting that the man’s shoulder was pinned by a concrete slab.

“Water was rushing in, turning into mud. It was already up to his shoulders,” he said.

Reams and the other neighbors who rushed to help before the firefighters arrived tried to use a wooden board to prevent a second concrete slab from shifting. At the time, the man’s head was only about 8 inches above the watery mixture.

The mood was somber on the quiet residential street, between Ryan and Mound roads, as neighbors gathered around the site.

Eupharzine Ruffin, 15, who lives nearby, said she is now worried about her father’s safety because he works in construction. “I was scared because he fell in the hole and concrete fell on top of him,” she said of the man.

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At this point, if I lived in Calgary, I’d be afraid that the whole city might sink into the ground. This is crazy.

Sink hole forces condo evacuation

Updated: Sat May. 02 2009 15:30:00

ctvcalgary.ca

Joan Holmes lives on the main floor of a condo complex located at 313 4th Street SW.

For the second time in less than a year, her family has been evacuated because of a sink hole. Holmes says she’s concerned for their safety.

“It’s scary. You don’t know when something more drastic is going to happen. We’ve got a new vehicle downstairs. We’re on the main floor. What if we start sinking? Yah, it’s scary.”

The sink hole, which is four metres wide and three metres deep, was discovered Friday evening in the underground parkade. A pick-up truck was trapped in it.

Deb Bergeson, a spokesperson with the Calgary Fire Department, says firefighters evacuated the building as a precaution.

“We’re unsure of the structural integrity of the building right now, which is why everyone has been evacuated.”

On Friday night, the 13 occupants of the building were provided temporary shelter in a Calgary Transit Bus until alternate arrangements could be made.

Kevin Griffiths, with the City of Calgary Building Regulations, says City engineers are trying to determine if a nearby construction site is causing the problem.

“There is a concern.”

This is the second sink hole to develop on the property. Last July, a similar incident forced residents out of the same building.

It’s also the second sink hole in the downtown area this spring. Just a few blocks away, police shut down roads after a sink hole was discovered on 4th Street between 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue SW on April 24th.

It’s believed to be caused by a development project located at 517 10th Ave SW. The company responsible for the project at the site of that sink hole has been ordered to find out where it came from.

The City of Calgary ordered the owners of the Gateway Midtown condo project to take scaffolding and offices off the site and rip up the sidewalk in order to do an engineering report on the problem.

The road and sidewalk next to the project will remain closed until the matter is dealt with.

Griffiths says the two most recent sink holes aren’t related, but they’re both located beside construction sites.

“The sooner this project, all projects, can get up to grade and above, we’ll have a level of comfort. Until then, we’re concerned and we’ll be watching very closely.”

For now, residents like Holmes will have to wait to find out when they can return to their homes.

“It’s scary and it’s not pleasant.”

There’s no word yet on when residents will be able to return to their suites.

City engineers are investigating and expect to have a report on the structural integrity of the building ready by Monday night.