He Descended Into Cesspool Hole, Was Buried Alive

A man working on a septic system on Long Island died after being buried alive, despite first responders' desperate, hourslong efforts to save him. Fox News reports that 38-year-old Lauro Pacheco, a Bay Shore resident, was part of the Darius Masonry team that was installing cesspool rings Monday at the property of a home in Head of the Harbor, along the island's North Shore. Police say that when Pacheco entered the cesspool hole to adjust one of the rings, dirt that had been excavated suddenly caved in on top of him.

"It was a collapse of soil," says Head of the Harbor Police Chief Chuck Lohmann, per PIX11. Police say more than five hours after he fell into the hole, Pacheco was finally extricated by emergency crews from multiple towns, but he was pronounced dead at the scene at around 8:20pm, reports Patch. According to authorities, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been informed of the accident. Detectives from the Suffolk County Police Department's homicide unit are also investigating. (More freak accident stories.)