Boulder Traps Mine Worker In Excavator Underground

WINGDALE, NY — A man working in a mine in eastern Dutchess County was rescued after being trapped in his excavator by a boulder Tuesday.

Multiple fire district personnel from the county were called to Wingdale Materials on Pleasant Ridge Road around 1:30 p.m. to help get the 40-year-old man safely out of the mine.

Rescuers from J.H. Ketcham Hose Company and Arlington Fire District had to travel 2,500 feet into the mine before they found the man, who was conscious and alert.

Officials said he was trapped inside the cab of an excavator by a 40- to 50-ton boulder that had been dislodged from the mine's wall and landed on the machinery.

Technical rescue technicians from Ketcham, Arlington and the City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department stabilized the boulder so the man could be extricated from the excavator.

Crews got him out of the machinery about an hour and 15 minutes from first finding him.

The man was taken to a LifeNet helicopter that had been standing by and air-lifted to Westchester Medical Center with injuries to both legs and one of his hands. The injuries were not considered life-threatening, authorities said.

Ketcham Hose Company was assisted at the scene by the Arlington, LaGrange and City of Poughkeepsie fire departments, the town of Dover Ambulance, town of Amenia Ambulance, Dutchess County Sheriff's Office, Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response, Dover Town Supervisor Richard Yeno, H.O. Penn, McIlvane Protection International and LifeNet.