Emergency responders from Clinton Police and Fire Departments, as well as Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare EMS, responded to the scene, with LifeFlight Eagle helicopter on standby at GVMH in case of need.
Clinton Fire Department Chief Mark Manuel reported that employees of Hankins Grain Company were “cleaning some grain out of the bin. There was a pocket, a void space in the grain that some wet grain crated. When they broke that loose, it sucked the victim down into the grain and buried him to the chest. They immediately called 911.”
Using the department’s aerial ladder truck, Clinton Fire Department was able to access the top of the grain bin and remove part of the roof with a saw, from which opening they were able to access the entrapped young man inside. Securing the young man with a rope to prevent further sinking, responders worked to install barriers against the greater weight of the corn in the bin and safely remove a sufficient quantity of grain in order to free him.
Chief Manuel reported that rescuers used a device called a “Great Wall of Rescue,” is “created just for situations like this, grain entrapment.” Chief Manuel further describes the device as consisting of “several wall pieces that [rescuers] can use and push down into the grain…Once we get it completely deployed, it completely encapsulates [the] victim and prevents any more grain from falling down onto them to bury them any further.” Once the Great Wall of Rescue was fully deployed and encapsulated the entrapped young man, firefighters were able to use an auger to remove grain from around the young man and free him at approximately 12:00 noon.
Despite being entrapped for nearly three hours while crews worked to rescue him safely, the young man emerged “in good condition” and “stable.” Manuel elaborated that “when [firefighters] removed him, he was talking to [rescuers] and in good spirits and able to walk on his own.” The young man was transported by ambulance to Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare for further evaluation.
Grain entrapment is a serious health and safety risk that can in many cases prove to be fatal. Entrapment can occur within seconds, and the friction and pressure of the entrapping makes extraction of the entrapped victim difficult, even for trained rescue professionals.
