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🇬🇧 United Kingdom /Disasters & Emergencies

San Francisco firefighters rescue man trapped inside garbage truck

From The Guardian · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • San Francisco firefighters dug through a Recology garbage truck early Wednesday to rescue a man trapped inside.
  • Bystanders heard screams and alerted the driver, who stopped the truck before responders manually removed the waste.
  • The man received treatment for possible crush injuries, while one firefighter suffered a laceration during the rescue.

San Francisco firefighters had to hollow out a garbage truck by hand after bystanders heard screams coming from inside it early Wednesday. Instead of emptying the vehicle, responders dug through the trash to avoid causing further injuries.

There’s no safety.

· Samuel MenchacaThe San Francisco Fire Department public information officer described the danger posed by the truck’s compaction mechanism.

Firefighters arrived around 4:11 a.m. after authorities received a report of a person trapped inside a Recology dumpster truck. A video posted on social media showed crews working among piles of trash and debris before lifting the man onto a stretcher.

The man, who authorities have not publicly identified, was taken to a local trauma center for possible crush injuries, according to Samuel Menchaca, a public information officer for the San Francisco Fire Department. “There’s no safety,” Menchaca said of the truck’s mechanism. “That thing will just continue to compact the garbage that’s in there.”

That thing will just continue to compact the garbage that’s in there.

· Samuel MenchacaHe explained why responders avoided dumping out the truck’s contents during the rescue.

The driver stopped operating the truck after learning that someone was inside. Authorities suspect the man may have been searching for items in waste areas. Menchaca said people had been trapped in garbage containers before, but described this rescue as a “unique circumstance.” One firefighter suffered a laceration and went to hospital, despite responders wearing protective equipment. Menchaca warned the public not to enter waste containers, which can contain knives, glass, needles, hazardous substances and vermin.

unique circumstance

· Samuel MenchacaHe characterized the difficulty of the rescue compared with earlier incidents involving people trapped in garbage containers.
About this summary

Originally published by The Guardian in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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