Grave filler nearly gets buried alive

NEW YORK, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- A 59-year-old New York cemetery worker had to be rescued by firefighters after falling into an unfilled grave.

The unidentified man was preparing to fill a 7-foot grave Saturday when the ground under him gave way and he slid into the hole and was pinned against the coffin. Rain soaked dirt then began falling on top of the man, threatening to bury him alive, the New York Daily News reported.

Fortunately, the local fire department's "trench rescue" unit was called to the Farmingdale St. Charles Cemetery to rescue him.

The walls of the hole had to be shored up before the man was fastened to a backboard and lifted out, said East Farmingdale Fire Department Chief Anthony Nicholes.

The gravedigger was treated for neck, back and leg injuries at Nassau University Medical Center in Long Island, added Nicholes.