Emergency personnel responded to a construction accident at around 8:20 Thursday morning in Eden Prairie. Construction worker Christopher Scott Coppin, 34, was trapped under a mound of dirt at a construction site on Picha Place. According to Fire Chief George Esbensen, the Coppin was buried up to his midsection when crews arrived on the scene. The rest of the morning was spent carefully hand-digging the man out of the trench.

At around 12:30 p.m., crews were able to free him from the pile and he was wheeled over to a waiting Hennepin County Medical Center ambulance. Coppin was conscious during the entire incident.

“The hardest part was the loose soils,” noted Esbensen.

He noted that the Minnesota Structural Collapse Team provided a great resource. Also on hand to help were some 100 people from different agencies including Eden Prairie public works, EMTs, Hopkins and Bloomington Fire Departments, Edina Heavy Rescue Team, Minnetonka Fire Department, and a Minneapolis Search and Rescue Team.