Worker Seriously Injured After Fall At Rutgers Newark Campus

NEWARK, NJ — Dozens of emergency responders performed a “high-angle rescue” on the Rutgers Newark campus on Tuesday after a worker with Toms River-based Lighton Industries fell 30 feet into an underground electrical vault. The worker suffered “serious” injuries during the incident, authorities said.

According to the Newark Department of Public Safety, Newark firefighters received a call around 8 a.m. from an on-scene EMS crew, requesting help with a confined space rescue involving a man who fell about 30 feet into a vault at the Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences building located on Bergen Street.

About 30 Newark firefighters arrived on the scene and executed a high-angle rescue with the assistance of a belay system and stokes rescue basket, successfully removing the injured man from the vault, authorities said.

Emergency responders immediately transported the victim to the hospital, where he was treated for “serious injuries,” authorities stated.

Rutgers campus police officers and federal officials from OSHA were also present on the scene Tuesday.

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Photos: Newark Department of Public Safety