After several hours, crews rescue man trapped in trench in Allentown
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- After more than eight hours, crews in Allentown rescued a construction worker trapped in a trench on Wednesday. Dozens of emergency workers worked to free the man, who was stuck in five feet of dirt.
Crews freed the man just before 10:20 p.m.
At around 2 p.m., he and another man were doing work in the backyard of a home on West Gordon and North Fulton Streets when they became stuck in the trench. One of the men was able to climb out using a ladder.
Crews were working on a project with a backhoe when two men got stuck in the back of a building.
Throughout the rescue, crews say the man remained conscious and communicated with rescuers.
Officials say the man is in his 20's. He was lifted by a fire truck ladder out of the hole. Crowds who had waited hours for the moment clapped for him and his family who were there by his side as he was put into the ambulance.
Crews pumped hot air to try to prevent hypothermia as the temperatures began to fall throughout the night.
The victim received fluids and pain medication while he was working to be freed given the weight of the dirt on his body for that long of a time, according to officials.
The process took as long as it did because crews had to use hand shovels and a machine to suck out the dirt because the hole the man was trapped in was too small for machines -- about 30 inches wide and 12 feet deep.