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ST. GEORGE — St. George firefighters and police on Wednesday recovered the body of a man who died after being buried in the yard of a home after a trench collapse.
St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker said authorities received a call shortly after noon on Wednesday for a possible trench cave-in involving a homeowner digging beside a home in the city. Authorities said the 54-year-old man was dead as a result of being buried.
The man had 2 to 2½ feet of soil on top of him, and responders installed trench panels to stabilize the trench before extrication efforts, Stoker said. Authorities received the initial call about the incident after the man's spouse reported she hadn't seen him for a while and couldn't find him.
Stoker said responders removed the man's body about 6:20 p.m. Wednesday and turned their focus to repairing utilities to the home that were in the trench. Multiple agencies responded to the incident.
