DUBAI // Three labourers were rescued after being buried by sand for more than an hour when the trench in which they were working collapsed. The accident happened at 4pm on Monday at a construction site in Al Qusais Industrial Area 5. A number of workers were in the four-metre deep trench when it caved in. Some were able to escape to raise the alarm. The rescuers stabilised the trench with wooden boarding before pulling the trapped men out in an operation that took a little over an hour.
The men were taken to hospital where their injuries were described as "moderate to intermediate". Captain Ali al Naqabi, the head of the rescue team, said: "One needs to be very cautious when dealing with accidents involving sand, as it is constantly moving and more sand might collapse and bury the rescue workers. "This incident was dangerous as the sand mass was enormous and we could not control its movement in the beginning."
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