AS IT HAPPENED: Major rescue operation at grain silo
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UPDATE, 10am:
THE son of a man who survived being trapped in a grain silo for three hours on Tuesday afternoon says his father will be released from hospital this morning.
Russell Mannes said his father was "doing all right" and "today was better than yesterday".
Mr Mannes said his father had not suffered any serious injuries and had not wanted to go to hospital.
He said he would pick him up and bring him home today.
UPDATE, WEDNESDAY 9.45am:
A MAN who survived being trapped in a grain silo for about three hours on Tuesday was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital yesterday.
The Bendigo Advertiser reported the man was airlifted from the property at Axe Creek to Bendigo Health.
This was incorrect.
Firefighters who rescued the man were taken to Bendigo Health as a precaution but were later discharged.
EARLIER:
A MAN in his 60s was flown to Bendigo Health for observation on Tuesday evening after a major rescue operation to free him from a grain silo on Mannes Road, Strathfieldsaye.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said the man had been trapped for up to three hours before he was removed about 6.40pm.
"They will do a fairly big assessment of him in hospital but he was in a stable condition when freed and they kept his fluids up (during the ordeal)," he said.
The operation involved police, paramedics, SES and CFA crews and lasted for more than two hours.
CFA district two operations officer Trent McKinnon said all the agencies had worked extremely well together to ensure the man was removed safely.
"We were able to extract the casualty successfully and he was transferred to hospital in Bendigo by helicopter," he said.
"They used equipment inside the silo to stop the grain from putting any more pressure on him and tied a rope around him to secure him and then looked at removing the grain from around him," he said.
"They had to do it slowly because he'd been in there so long there was a potential for tissue damage."
Mr McKinnon said the man had been buried up to his waist but was conscious and able to communicate.
"I believe he'd been in there up to two hours prior to us being notified so he was heat affected as well," he said.
He said five CFA members were also heat affected and transported to hospital as a precaution.
CFA regional operations officer Chris Jacobsen said with direct sunlight shining on the galvanised steel silo, temperatures inside reached 55 degrees.
"He had been in there a long time. It's hot and in direct sunlight, so we were worried about dehydration and a thing called crush syndrome," he said.
"The blood below the level of the crush can turn acidic and it can release toxins and alter blood pressure, and if he's released too quickly it can be fatal.
"When we removed the man he was able to wave to his family and walk a little way to the stretcher."
WorkSafe is investigating the cause of the accident.
- with AAP