Tragedy in the Well Shaft
A well-digger and his rescuers succumb to toxic gas in an Edmonds excavation.
The body of C. E. Frost, 45, a well-digger who was overcome by gas at the bottom of a 180-foot well near Edmonds, was recovered by John G. Shoening of the United States Bureau of Mines, stationed at the University of Washington, 15 hours after Frost’s death. Three men had been overcome in rescue attempts. Frost was digging a well for Percy Egtvet, assisted by two of his brothers. When Frost failed to answer their calls, they concluded he was unconscious, and one of the Egtvets was lowered but he was overcome before he reached the bottom.
“Three men had been overcome in rescue attempts.”
Confined space hazards remain a lethal reality in construction today. This tragedy highlights how the lack of modern safety standards and air-monitoring equipment turned a standard work site into a multi-victim disaster.
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