Update: Worker Dies in Severn Trench Collapse

Updated: - (Monday, 4:10 p.m.) Firefighters recovered the body of a construction worker who was killed when a trench collapsed on top of him near WB&A Road in Severn. 

The body of the 25-year-old man was recovered after workers spent three-and-a-half hours working to move dirt from the trench, according to Division Chief Keith Swindle of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department. 

The incident happened at Leyton Lane just before 10 a.m. and it was deemed a "recovery operation" shortly thereafter, Swindle said.

Swindle said the man was a contractor who was digging a trench in the backyard of the home. The trench collapsed and he was trapped under large amounts of dirt. 

The homeowner, Chris Wilson, said the home was built in 2012, and they were in the process of building a deck. The victim was standing in the hole when it collapsed. Workers and neighbors worked frantically to pull out dirt using shovels and post hole diggers, but could not keep up with the dirt falling in. 

"Every shovel of dirt we'd pull out, four or five would fall back in," Wilson said.

Special operations teams from Arundel and Howard counties are on scene and using vacuum trucks to pull the dirt out of the trench. The technique is typically used to clear out storm drains, Swindle said.  The county has six vacuum trucks—several of which are on scene—when one gets filled with dirt, they bring in another truck. 

The incident remains under investigation by the fire department and MOSHA.