Man, Trapped for Four Hours in 50 Tons of Soil, Rescued

His first day on the job:

Rescued worker thought he would die
Monday Mar 20 07:29 AEDT

A man trapped for four hours under more than 50 tonnes of soil at a Sydney building site thought he was going to die as mud piled on top of him and pushed him against a concrete wall.

Construction worker Bosko Kojic was on his first day on the job when he became pinned against a wall when a mound of soil gave way at an excavation site in Castlereagh Street at Liverpool on Saturday morning.

Trapped from his waist down, and suffering extensive leg injuries, he watched as emergency workers scrambled to contain a further collapse - and then began the slow process of digging him out.

The rescue workers used shovels and picks rather than heavy machinery to dig the man out to avoid upsetting the soil for a second time.

After four long hours Mr Kojic was finally freed and taken to Liverpool Hospital in a serious but stable condition with extensive leg and lower body injuries.

On Sunday, the emotional 26-year-old said he thought he was going to die before the rescue team arrived.

“I just remember the mud sliding on top of me and pushing me against the wall, the concrete wall,” Mr Kojic told Network Ten from his hospital bed where he is recovering from surgery to his left leg.

“I thought I was going to die, I was praying.”

He praised the efforts by rescue workers in their attempts to save him.

“I want to say thanks to them. They saved my life at that moment,” Mr Kojic said.

Despite the nightmare start to the job, he said he was thinking about returning to work once he had recovered.

“If I get healed mate, if everything goes alright, then why not?” he said.