Second Avenue subway construction worker rescued after underground fall

UPPER EAST SIDE (WABC) -- A construction worker on the Second Avenue subway project fell off a ladder while working underground on the Upper East Side Monday, prompting a rescue.

The incident happened at Second Avenue and East 69th Street around 7:35 a.m., with the worker falling about 6 to 8 feet.

"We had a 50-year-old male who fell off, they have a series of ladders, they have a complicated system downstairs, for the 2nd Avenue subway construction," FDNY Chief James Manning said. "Fell off a ladder and suffered some minor head and shoulder injuries."

EMS worked to lift the victim up to street level, calling the operation a confined space removal.

"Engine 39, Ladder 16, Rescue 1 and Squad 18 did a phenomenal job in packaging the injured member and bringing him up a series of vertical pulls that they established," Manning said. "They ultimately used a crane hook to extricate him to street level, and he was taken to (the hospital)...He was conscious the entire time."

The extent of the worker's injuries is not known, but he is said to be hospitalized in serious but stable condition.