<\/a>Surjit Gill’s body was recovered at 8:35 p.m Sept. 7, although responders spent an additional couple of hours carefully removing plates and safety construction in the trench. Photo courtesy of Renton Regional Fire Authority.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Responders were able to remove the man from the trench around 8:35 p.m., which was almost eight hours later. But the work didn’t stop there — de-mobilization of the structures and plates that were put in place to prevent a second collapse took a couple more hours to take apart, Pawlak said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
“It was like putting a puzzle together,” Pawlak said of the recovery operations. “It was as tedious and dangerous to take it apart as it was putting it together.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Public records describe the future site as being an 8-lot short plat with tall retaining walls and steep slopes with an installation of water, sewer and storm utilities, including an underground stormwater vault.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
Records also show that the owners of the property are Gill Homes and Sapphire Development, while the construction company working at the site is AAA Contractors Inc.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
The Renton Reporter reached out to both Gill Homes and AAA Contractors, who eaach gave no comment.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries is investigating the collapse to determine if the accident was caused by failures in safety protocols. A spokesperson for the department said the investigation could take up to six months or longer.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t