NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The FDNY rescued a worker who was trapped under a dumbwaiter Tuesday at a social club in Midtown Manhattan.
The 32-year-old man was working on the dumbwaiter at 111 East 54th St. in Midtown East shortly before 12:45 p.m. when the dumbwaiter "gave way, crushing him below on the ground level," FDNY Deputy Chief Mark Bonilla said at a press conference.
The dumbwaiter fell three stories down the shaft and onto the worker, officials said.
"Our initial plan was to lift up the dumbwaiter to get access to the patient, but once they started lifting up the dumbwaiter it was kind of shaking and giving way, so we formulated another plan where they breached both side of the walls," Bonilla said.
"We had units securing the car itself, we had units breaching walls to get access to the person," FDNY Deputy Chief Nicholas Corrado told reporters. "In the end, we were able to extricate the person out of the shaft."
The victim suffered multiple traumatic injuries, including crush injuries, but was conscious and alert—and screaming in pain—during the ordeal, officials said. He was transported to Weill Cornell Medical Center in stable condition.
The Department of Buildings is investigating the incident, which FDNY officials said happened at a private social club.