A Massachusetts worker had to be surgically freed after his arm became trapped inside a conveyor belt during a terrifying industrial accident at an asphalt plant.
Emergency crews rushed to a Newport Materials processing site in Westford around 11:18 a.m. Friday after receiving reports of a serious workplace accident.
When firefighters and police arrived, they found the worker about 10 feet off the ground with an upper extremity caught inside the conveyor machinery.
Authorities said he had suffered extensive injuries.
Because of the difficult position of the worker and the severity of the entrapment, officials immediately called in additional rescue teams.
The Essex County Technical Rescue Team responded with specialized extrication equipment, while surgical teams from Lowell General Hospital and Lahey Hospital were brought directly to the scene.
Video from the dramatic rescue showed the injured man secured in a harness while receiving an IV as crews worked to free him.
Westford Fire Chief Michael Denehy said the situation was unlike anything he had seen before.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a first,” he told WCVB.
Denehy said even veteran emergency workers at the scene described the accident as an extremely rare event.
After more than two hours of painstaking work, rescuers were finally able to free the worker at around 1:30 p.m.
He was then airlifted by Boston MedFlight to a Level 1 trauma center for advanced treatment.
The worker later underwent surgery and was expected to survive, according to local reports.
Authorities have not publicly identified the injured worker.
The circumstances surrounding how his arm became trapped in the conveyor belt remain under investigation.
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