Worker Rescued After Getting Stuck In Pit At Lower East Side Construction Site
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Crews rescued a worker from a Lower East Side construction side Wednesday afternoon, after he became trapped.
Around 4:15 p.m., FDNY emergency medical services crews were sent to the site at 413 Grand St., just south of the Williamsburg Bridge and west of the FDR Drive, officials told CBS2.
The worker was trapped up to his chest for 59 minutes in mud, rock and debris.
Worker Rescued After Getting Stuck In Pit At Lower East Side Construction Site
"When dirt collapses, it travels at approximately 40 miles an hour, so you're not outrunning it, and he was buried – completely buried," said FDNY Assistant Chief James Daly. "His co-workers were able to dig away around his upper torso."
Daly said the worker was down 10 to 12 feet when the trench collapsed, 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported.
The FDNY brought in special equipment to dig the worker out piece by piece, Biermann reported. The equipment included a Con Edison vacuum truck to vacuum some of the dirt out.
Plywood was placed around the hole in which the worker was stuck, so as to avoid a further collapse.
The worker was alert and conscious when he was pulled from the pit, the FDNY reported. He was hospitalized in serious condition, officials said.
Crews also used a medication called ketamine to manage the worker's pain after rescuing him, Daly said.
The workers were excavating following reports of a leaky pipe at the time of the accident.
