14 DAY TRIAL // Four children have been swallowed in a landslide in St. Paul, Minnesota, an incident that resulted in a fatality.
One student is still missing after a field trip at Lilydale Park on Wednesday, May 22. Rescue crews were forced to end their search early on the same day, due to weather conditions.
"Water is flowing right into the hole making it extremely dangerous for rescuers to work anymore," St. Paul Fire Department spokesman Steve Zaccard informs.
The rescue operation has been resumed on Thursday, KARE 11 reports. The Minnesota Structural Collapse Team is aiding in stabilizing the ground in order to permit rescuers to continue the search.
"We are working with our partners in Parks and Public Works to make the scene safe for what's become a recovery effort for what might be a fourth victim," Zaccard explains.
The kids were collecting fossils when a depression opened up as they were caught in a gravel slide. One child was killed by falling debris, while a girl was freed, having only been partially covered and she is recovering in medical care.
Two firemen also suffered minor injuries upon being struck by rocks in the midst of the rescue effort.
"It appears they were walking along and after the rain we had, the ground was so soft that it gave way. [...] They fell into the hole and the earth came on top of them," Zaccard adds.
The fourth graders were on a class trip organized by St. Louis Park's Peter Hobart Elementary School.
The two survivors who were found were transported to Regions Hospital where they are in stable condition.
"Thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the children and to our first responders who continue to deal with the situation as it develops," St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman expresses in a press conference.