Man sinks into grain bin as rescuers race to help him out of corn, Tennessee crews say

A man was rescued from a grain bin after he became 90% entrapped in corn kernels and crews raced to free him, Tennessee firefighters said.

Rescuers answering a call about a grain bin entrapment found the man in the middle of the bin almost completely engulfed in corn on Nov. 29, according to a news release from the Ethridge Fire Department. They provided medical assistance and placed a tube around him to secure him.

Photos show a crew shoveling corn away from the man, as metal walls are planted to stabilize him and the rescuers.

Crews used a vacuum truck to remove corn from the grain bin in Henryville and allow the man to exit through the access door, firefighters said.

“Great teamwork and great training played a very vital role in today’s rescue,” Ethridge Fire Chief Nathan Keeton said in the release.

“Moving grain acts like ‘quicksand’ and can bury a worker in seconds,” according to OSHA’s page on grain handling. “‘Bridged’ grain and vertical piles of stored grain can also collapse unexpectedly if a worker stands on or near it. The behavior and weight of the grain make it extremely difficult for a worker to get out of it without assistance.”

Suffocation is one of the most common causes of death in grain bins, OSHA says.

Henryville is near the Tennessee-Alabama state line about 75 miles southwest of Nashville.

This story was originally published November 30, 2023 at 1:36 PM with the headline "Man sinks into grain bin as rescuers race to help him out of corn, Tennessee crews say."