A Queens grave digger was critically injured — when he tripped and fell into a freshly dug cemetery plot Friday, FDNY officials said.
The worker, in his 60s, was trying to move a tombstone at Middle Village St. Johns Cemetery when he tumbled into the empty 8-foot to 10-foot grave around 10:15 a.m., witnesses and FDNY officials said.
The injured worker was lying in the hole on his back when first responders arrived, officials said.
Several firefighters quickly got down into the hole to help him, authorities said.
“He was unresponsive at first, but then we checked his vitals, and they came back solid,” said Battalion Chief Chris Joyce.
Rescuers placed two wooden trench support boards on either side of the hole to prevent the earth from caving in, rescuers said.
They then placed the wounded man on a stretcher roped to a tractor that pulled him above ground, the FDNY said.
He was extracted in about 30 minutes, they said.
“I heard him grunt,” said Chief Joyce.
The man was transported to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition, officials said. He may have broken a shoulder, arm and leg, sources said.
St Johns Cemetery did not immediately return a request for comment.
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