Two girls are recovering after they were rescued from a trench at a construction site in southwest suburban Tinley Park.
The girls, 11-year-old Nicole Salweirak and her 12-year-old friend Sarah, had been playing in a recently dug excavation site when a wall collapsed and trapped them.
"I was screaming and telling mom that Sarah was buried under there," said Salweirak's 8-year-old brother, who went for help after seeing the accident.
A witness on the scene said one of the girls touched the wall with her hand and it came falling down.
Salweirak was buried to the waist, but Sarah was completely buried by at least two feet of heavy clay.
The family called 9-1-1 and emergency crews arrived on the scene minutes later.
Crews told the family the way the girls were trapped actually worked to their advantage. The way the girls fell and landed on each other created an air pocket.
Police, public works and fire officials handled the incident in about 20 minutes.
Both girls were conscious and breathing when they were rescued, however they were taken to the hospital for tests. They are expected to be OK.
