Greek Worker Buried Alive in 3-Meter Trench Dies
A 51-year-old worker was killed Friday morning after being buried under a massive wall of earth while working inside a 3-meter-deep trench on Narkissou Street in Neos Voutzas, in the Municipality of Marathon, northeast of Athens.
The man was carrying out sewage network expansion work for EYDAP, the Athens water and sewage company, when the trench walls collapsed and trapped him. Fifteen firefighters with five vehicles responded and eventually pulled him out unconscious. He was transported by ambulance to a hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
For deep trench work of this kind, installing structural shoring is legally required to prevent exactly this type of collapse.
The project involves extending the EYDAP sewage network across eastern Attica. According to reports, the contract had been awarded to a construction company, which then subcontracted the work to a smaller firm. The victim was employed by that subcontractor.
A Labor Inspectorate team went to the scene immediately to investigate the exact circumstances of the accident and any safety violations. The conditions that caused the collapse are still under investigation.
Worker unions and labor experts have been quick to point out that for deep trench work of this kind, installing structural shoring is legally required to prevent exactly this type of collapse. Representatives from EYDAP workers' unions, the Construction Workers' Federation, and the Salaried Technicians' Association have repeatedly flagged serious gaps in workplace health and safety standards, warning that worker safety is routinely sacrificed for cost savings.
This is the latest in a string of workplace fatalities in Greece, with labor groups continuing to press for stricter enforcement of safety regulations on construction and infrastructure sites.
