A 24-year-old man was rescued on Wednesday afternoon after being trapped under debris following a building collapse in North Augusta.
At 1:49 p.m., the North Augusta Department of Public Safety responded to a report of the incident on Vancouver Road. Officers discovered that a building had collapsed and that the man was trapped underneath. Initial responders were able to make contact with the individual, but realized that freeing him would require assistance from additional agencies.
The North Augusta Public Safety team called for help from several local and regional organizations, including the Merriwether Volunteer Fire Department, Belvedere Volunteer Fire Department, Aiken County EMS, Augusta Fire Department Confined Space Rescue, the SRS Heavy Extrication Unit, the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, and Med Trans 1 Air support for patient transport.
After nearly two hours of effort, the man was successfully freed from the debris. He was then transported by ambulance to a helicopter, which flew him to the Wellstar MCG Trauma Center for treatment.
The cause of the collapse remains under investigation. The man’s identity was not released by authorities.
