A Western Cape construction worker was seriously injured on Friday when the trench he was working in collapsed, ER24 said.

Spokesman Andre Visser said the accident happened at the Delft Day Hospital on the Cape Flats.

The worker was digging a trench for pipes to be installed around the hospital when the floor of the trench collapsed. Visser said the man was buried up to his shoulders.

Paramedics and rescue workers extracted him, careful not to cause any further collapse of the trench's side walls, Visser said.

It took just over an hour to pull him free.

He was taken to hospital for treatment of significant injuries