Responders detail rescue effort of man trapped in Dutchess County mine

Tuesday was the first time many departments in Dutchess County ever had to save a person stuck in heavy machinery - with a 40-to-50-ton boulder on top of it and 2,500 hundred feet down in a mine.

News 12 Staff

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Dec 16, 2021, 10:37 PM

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Updated 1,100 days ago

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First responders spoke to News 12 about rescuing a man who was trapped in a Dutchess County mine earlier this week

Tuesday was the first time many departments in Dutchess County ever had to save a person stuck in heavy machinery - with a 40-to-50-ton boulder on top of it and 2,500 hundred feet down in a mine.

Eric Kelly, with the J. H. Ketcham Hose Company, says their department called in Arlington and other area first responders to help them out at Wingdale Materials.

"One goal of just getting this guy free. Making sure that we can get him out safely and making sure that all the firefighters that were there were safe," he says.

Kelly says firefighters worked to secure the rock in place with long struts, as others began to cut the machine open - and others monitored the man's vitals.

"When people are in a tough spot, we try to do our best to get them out, and I think that's satisfying for us. We like what we do," says Joe Tarquinio, of the Arlington Fire Department.

News 12 was told the 40-year-old man suffered a hand injury and is expected to be OK.