FL Crews Rescue Trapped Man at Disney

July 11, 2019
The contractor, who was uninjured, was trapped in a trench for about 90 minutes while Reedy Creek firefighters worked to free him.

Jul. 11--When a man fell down a hole at Disney's Animal Kingdom, firefighters spent 90 minutes taking turns digging him out.

At around 1:45 p.m. Tuesday, Orange County Fire Rescue got a call from Reedy Creek firefighters saying they needed help -- a man was trapped in a trench and they didn't have the equipment to get him out, said Mike Jachles, an Orange County Fire Rescue spokesman.

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When they arrived at the Animal Kingdom parking lot, they found the man, who was in his 50s, with his leg trapped in a hole 8- to 10-feet deep and 5-feet across, Jachles said.

Fire Rescue did not identify the man. The man had become trapped when the ground underneath him gave way. He was standing above a trench box that was underground; firefighters do not know why it caved in.

Originally, the man had both his legs trapped but he was able to dig out one of them. Because of the size of the hole, only one squad technician could fit. Firefighters took turns digging the man out to free his leg, which was stuck up to his thigh in dirt, Jachles said.

It took 15 firefighters and 90 minutes to get the man out. He was taken to a hospital by Reedy Creek Fire to be checked but had no injures.

The Orlando Sentinel reported the man was a contractor working at Animal Kingdom.

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