MADELIA— A man has died after a trench he was working in collapsed on a rural Blue Earth County farm where he was placing underground piping.

The Free Press reports that emergency crews responded to the farm near Madelia at about 2:45 p.m. Monday and remained on the scene for hours as recovery efforts continued. The man’s body was recovered around 8:15 p.m. and sent to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner for an autopsy.

Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Capt. Rich Murry says there was a “major cave-in” when the man was in a trench box underground as employees with North Dakota-based Vortex Drain & Tile Co. worked to bury large pipes.

The man’s name wasn’t released Monday evening, but Murry says he’s been identified as a 28-year-old from Michigan.