Landslide trappedbuilding foremanat Trooperslane site

A site foreman lay unconscious trapped in a trench for two hours following a landslide in Trooperslane.

Thirty-one-year-old John McKibbin,from Annalong, County Down, was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital where his condition was described as “ill”.

The Larne Times reported that Mr. McKibbin had been covered to the neck by five tons of clay.

The accident occurred in a 20ft deep trench where a pipe was being laid from a pump house to a waste sewerage works.

Mr. McKibbin had been inspecting the trench with colleague Noel Graham.

Mr. Graham said: “I dived to safety but McKibbin got the full force of the fall.”

Bricklayer John Reid added: “McKibbin let out a yell as the clay engulfed him. Noel and I started clawing the clay away but it was hopeless.”

Meanwhile, an ambulance and Carrick Fire Brigade arrived. Dr. Elizabeth Wylie gave Mr. McKibbin a pain-killing injection.

Men worked frantically with shovels to try to relieve the pressure of the clay.

Finally, the injured man was freed and lifted on a stretcher before being taken to hospital.