CAMERON — Two men were rescued after one wall of the 10-foot deep trench they were working in beside State Highway 36 in Cameron collapsed about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Both men were treated and released after being flown to Scott and White Memorial Hospital in Temple.

Rafael Vales and Jose Pedro Oliveres were trapped in the cold clay of the 26-inch wide trench, one of them to mid-thigh depth, the other to his chest. They were a few feet outside of the metal trench brace, a safety device used in vertically walled trenches of more than five feet deep.

Temple sent its hazardous materials/rescue truck after being called at 11:53 a.m., said Thomas Pechal of Temple Fire and Rescue. Firefighters dug the first man out in about 15 minutes, Pechal said. It took almost three hours to dig the other man out.

Pechal said the clay soil and sporadic rainfall hindered the confined space rescue. A vacuum truck helped to remove loose soil.