BELGRADE, Feb 20, (V7N) – Serbian emergency responders successfully rescued the final worker trapped underground after a soil collapse buried multiple workers during sewer pipeline construction, police confirmed late Wednesday.

"Saved after eight long hours. Immense gratitude to our firefighter-rescuers," Serbia’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivica Dacic, expressed on Instagram.

The incident took place in the village of Petka, near Lazarevac, approximately 65 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Belgrade. The workers were digging a trench for a sewer pipeline when a sudden earth collapse buried them under nearly three meters of soil.

A team of 20 firefighter-rescuers was dispatched after authorities were alerted that three workers had been trapped.

During the operation, an additional collapse briefly buried one of the rescue team members. Fortunately, the rescuer was swiftly freed, along with two of the trapped workers. However, efforts to reach the third worker continued for eight hours before he was successfully pulled to safety.

"All three workers have been rescued and are in stable condition. The firefighter who was briefly buried is also doing well," Dacic confirmed.