A Dan Ryan Expressway project laborer working in a sewer Saturday afternoon was injured after falling 25 feet, authorities said.
The fall led to a complex rescue by emergency personnel, and caused the Chicago Transit Authority to halt Red Line train service for nearly two hours.
The man was working around 12:45 p.m. about 10 feet below ground in a sewer near the Red Line’s 47th Street Station when he fell to the bottom of the sewer, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Kevin MacGregor.
The man, an employee of a private contractor, was conscious and alert after the fall, MacGregor said. Another construction worker came to his aid.
Rescue workers stabilized the injured man and used a crane, ropes and a basket to hoist him from the hole about 2:15 p.m., MacGregor said. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
“It appears he has ankle and leg injuries,” MacGregor said. “Other than that, he was very lucky.”
Fire Department rescue personnel asked the CTA cut power to part of the Red Line. Service was canceled between the 95th Street and Garfield Boulevard Stations from 12:55 to 2:40 p.m., CTA spokeswoman Ibis Antongiorgi said. Shuttle buses were used to transport riders.
