NEW ORLEANS
--
A 19-year-old man is in guarded condition after rescue crews freed him from a portable cement mixer on a New Orleans construction site.
The unidentified worker was pulled arm-first into the machinery Monday afternoon.
The accident happened at the site of the former B.W. Cooper Housing Development.
Members of the New Orleans Fire Department needed about 50 minutes to cut the man free.
"It was an extended extrication procedure," said 2nd District Chief Chris E. Mickal. "We used the Jaws of Life to cut pieces of metal out of there, piece by piece. We could see stuff partly impaling the sides of his head."
Paramedics took the man to the trauma center at LSU Hospital. They said he was conscious during the trip.
He is employed by a subcontractor on the project, which is helmed by Boh Brothers Construction.
Firefighters Extract Worker From Cement Mixer
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