ALTON, Ill. (AP) — Two plumbers who were working in a 14-foot-deep sewer trench apparently suffocated after a wall collapsed on top of them, authorities said.

Randy Rasler, 45, and Vernon Sarver, 26, were trapped for about 30 minutes and died before rescuers could reach them, officials said.

The men tried to escape before the cave-in, a witness told The (Alton) Telegraph.

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Preliminary findings indicate the men died of asphyxiation from suffocation, Bond County Coroner Alan Young said.

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