PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — Editor's note: The following story previously reported that the rescue happened at Martin Marietta Aggregates. It has been updated to correct that information.
A 30-year-old man has now been rescued after being trapped in a gravel hopper at a Paulding County rock quarry Tuesday afternoon, according to firefighters.
According to police, the man worked for Wayne Davis Concrete Co. on Hailey Path in Dallas. Paulding County Fire authorities said that the man was conscious and complaining of back and leg pain after being stuck at the bottom of the gravel hopper. 11Alive crews saw the man get loaded into an ambulance minutes later.
"This is just a Christmas miracle. Feeling great that this man was extricated and still alive," said Paulding County Fire Public Information Officer Steve Mapes. "He is just really lucky that it ended this way. I have been doing this for 35 years, never seen something where someone was buried that deep and is still alive."
The hopper is a dispensing drum that is about 30 feet deep. Mapes said that construction crews would normally load the materials into the top of the drum and trucks pull in to transfer the material.
Fire officials are still unclear how the man got trapped in the hopper, but the material caved on top of the man, trapping him 15 feet under with tons of gravel. Paulding County Fire Lt. Josh Collier said a second collapse of the material then happened, trapping the man's head underneath where they were not able to see him but hear him.
"I have no idea how much this material weighs, but it's heavy and there are tons of gravel that are in those hoppers," said Mapes.
Mapes and the entire crew were surprised at how the man was able to continue breathing underneath all the material.
"Kudos to him. He was a fighter. He wanted to live because the moment we uncovered him he started lifting his head up on his own. He wanted to get out of there," said Cobb County Firefighter Parker Lee. "At one point I told him 'You are going to see your family for Christmas.'"
The 11Alive SkyTracker flew over the scene earlier, where dozens of firefighters and rescue crews were seen surrounding the hopper with ropes and grapples as they shoveled through thick rocks to save the man's life. Several fire trucks and construction crews were surrounding a part of the quarry. The City of Dallas Public Works also had a suction truck to help vacuum the gravel away.
The man was then taken to the hospital in an AirLife helicopter for extra care.
11Alive has reached out to the company to gather more information.
This is a developing story. Check back often for new information.
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