A man offloading grain from a semi-truck into a hopper car at CN Rail‘s Regina yard became entangled in the equipment Monday afternoon.
Twelve firefighters, including Regina Fire and Protective Services’ rescue technicians, responded to a 911 call at the 1st Avenue North facility just before 1 p.m., said Fire Marshal Randy Ryba. It took the crews 45 minutes to extract the man from the auger.
“We had to cut the equipment apart and take it apart before we could actually remove him,” Ryba said.
“We were very fortunate that we could get him out.”
Paramedics oversaw the operation, monitoring the health of the man, who was conscious throughout, he said. The man was taken to hospital by ambulance at 2 p.m. with “fairly serious” injuries.
Regina Police Service members were on scene as well in a support role.
CN said in an email that the man was employed by a company that loads products onto the rail cars. A spokesperson for the company said it will not be commenting further.