Crews began working Saturday to remove rubble and recover the body of a contractor who died Friday afternoon when a retaining wall fell and buried him at a construction site in the Sandy area.
Vicente Santoyo, 42, had been hired to work at a private residence near 2800 E. Ksel Drive (9450 South) when the ground gave way at 2 p.m. Friday, knocking the wall onto him, according to Unified Police Lt. Brian Lohrke.
Eric Larson, battalion chief for the Sandy Fire Department, said Santoyo was dead when firefighters arrived on scene.
Santoyo’s family flew to Salt Lake City from Chicago on Saturday to talk to law enforcement.
A private contractor that specializes in trench work has been hired to excavate the ground and enable the recovery. Though work began Saturday morning, Larson said the body will likely not be removed until Sunday.
“This site is so unstable at this point,” Larson said, “so there is a lot of work that has to be done before we can put guys in the position to recover the body.”
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