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The auger became lodged in the dirt and crews then got a backhoe to dig out the equipment, said Schulte.
"They were trying to probe with a rod to see were the auger was, when the bank gave away and completely covered one (employee) up," said Schulte. "A second jumped in there and started with his hands to pull dirt away. He was facing the bank and got him loose so he could breathe. Then the north bank caved in and pinned the other."
Schulte said a third man also was in the trench but he quickly freed himself before calling for help. The trench collapsed before 2 p.m.
Members of Strike Force 5, which is comprised of Franklin County and Jefferson County firefighters, responded to the scene with tactical rescue equipment to dig the men out of the trench.
"They did it carefully so nobody got hurt. Sometimes there were three rescue guys in the hole," said Schulte. "They certainly didn't it want to collapse again - it all worked out really well."
Schulte added that it took one hour to free one man and about seven hours to free the third man. He was taken to St. John's Mercy Medical Center, Creve Coeur, and was expected to be released Monday or Tuesday.
The Strike Team consists of 90 firefighters and 15 fire districts and departments. Members are trained to handle situations like roof collapses and trench rescues.
Schulte added that local law enforcement and emergency crews also assisted in the rescue.
"Police, ambulance and fire departments all did their jobs and it went really smooth," he said. "It could have been disastrous. Maybe because they were working to help a church that morning, somebody was looking out for them."
