A 40-year-old construction worker died today after a mound of dirt fell into a trench and trapped him in Waialae Iki, authorities said.

The man, who worked for W.A. Felix Builders, died at the Queen’s Medical Center, said Clayton Chun, supervisor of the Safety Branch at the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. Chun said a state safety investigator has been sent to the scene.

A representative for W.A. Felix said company officials were meeting with state safety officials and had no immediate comment.

The incident happened on a Piimauna Place residential property in a gated section of Waialae Iki about 9:45 a.m. where workers were digging a 3- to 5-foot-deep trench along a wall, said Honolulu Fire Capt. Terry Seelig.

Three men were in the trench with hand tools trying to move a mound of dirt away from the wall when a portion of the mound fell on them, burying them up to chest deep, Seelig said.

By the time firefighters arrived, coworkers using shovels had freed the men and were giving CPR to one man who had gone into cardiac arrest.

Firefighters took over and assisted paramedics, who took the man to the hospital. The other two workers were treated at the scene, Seelig said.