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The incident took place around 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 14 at the Wingdale Materials quarry in Dutchess County in Dover, said the JH Ketcham Hose Company.
According to Chief Ryan Sartori, of the JH Ketcham Hose Company, his department, along with Dover Ambulance, were dispatched to the quarry for the man trapped in a machine in the mine.
To free the man, a difficult, technical rescue operation took more than an hour after a 40-ton boulder pinned the man to the cab of his mining machine.
During the rescue operation, members of the rescue team worked to stabilize the boulder and extricated the man from the machinery, the chief said.
Throughout the procedure, the man received Advanced Life Support care from LaGrange and Arlington paramedics, he added.
Sartori said members of his department and Arlington firefighters traveled some 2,500 feet into the mine and made contact with the victim.
“He was conscious and alert, trapped inside the cab of his excavator by a large boulder that had dislodged from the mine’s wall, landing on the machinery,” the chief said.
Once rescued, the man was airlifted to Westchester Medical Center for treatment of injuries to both legs and one arm. The injuries are considered “non-life-threatening,” the chief added.
The fire department was assisted by numerous departments from throughout the area during the rescue.
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