'Crying for help': Co-workers tried to save man killed on construction site

Floral tributes have been placed at a construction site in Perth’s west where a young plumber was killed yesterday.

A witness told 9News he heard yelling and screaming around 2.30pm yesterday at the Badge construction site on Harvey Street in Mosman Park, and ran outside to see what was going on.

READ MORE: Perth construction worker dies after falling into trench filled with water

“One of them was almost submerged under the water, just his face and his open mouth. Second one tried to pull him very hard, crying for help," he said.

He said a young man was stuck in a ditch, with water quickly filling it up. Another worker jumped in to the water to try to pull him out, before two others also jumped in to help.

Workers from nearby shops tried to pass him a pipe to help him breathe.

Tragically the man could not be saved.

“After two minutes another two guys jumped in to help out, but it was so hard because they can’t pull him," the witness said.

It took rescue crews more than eight hours to retrieve his body.

A group of 10 firefighters worked until 11pm yesterday to get the man out, amid concerns the ditch would collapse.

“Incidents of this nature are quite complex and dangerous for our people, so in order to make it safe for them to enter, it’s quite difficult and technical,” Department of Fire and Emergency Service's Jason Paul said.

The road was blocked to traffic for most of the night and the water supply was turned off so firefighters could pump the water out of the ditch.

The site was shut down for the day while Worksafe launched an investigation in to the incident.