A US Army warrant officer has shared her harrowing story of survival after she was buried alive for nearly 30 minutes during a construction site accident in 2021.
Ashley Piccirilli had just started working at a new construction job in Northampton, Massachusetts, when the trench she was working in, 13 feet deep, suddenly collapsed. The incident took place just a week into her new role.
"I heard someone shout 'watch out!' and the next thing I remember was silence - and the sound of dirt rushing over my body," she recalled in an interview with People magazine. "I couldn't move. My eyes were shut from the dirt. I was trapped."
Despite being severely injured - including broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a lacerated spleen - Ms Piccirilli remained conscious and calm, drawing on her military training. "I never thought I would die. I kept telling myself to take small breaths. That's what saved me," she said.
Emergency crews managed to pull her out alive. She was immediately rushed to the hospital, where doctors discovered she had broken 10 to 11 ribs, suffered internal bleeding, and needed major surgery to reconstruct her diaphragm and sternum. A part of her liver and her spleen had to be removed.
Dr Kristina Kramer, the lead trauma surgeon at Baystate Health, said her survival and recovery were nothing short of remarkable. "Her spirit and mental strength were incredible," Dr Kramer noted.
Ms Piccirilli spent 30 days in the hospital and nearly a year in recovery. Now, four years on, she hopes sharing her experience will offer strength to others facing physical or emotional trauma.
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