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Firefighters rescue bridge worker

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Local firefighters rescued a bridge worker who fell into a confined space while working on the Long Beach Bridge on Friday.

At 10: 18 a.m., the Long Beach Fire Department came to the mutual aid of the Island Park Fire Department for a report of a 60-year-old male bridge operator who fell into the water off the bridge. Upon further inspection, it was determined that the bridge worker did not fall into the water, but fell down a 16-foot pit into the base of the bridge and sustained serious injuries.

According to Long Beach Fire Chief Rich DiGiacomo, the individual fell off of a ladder while working on the bridge and landed into a confined space, where he could not remove himself. Authorities say the man suffered head trauma and possible hypothermia.

The extraction took about 20 mins and caused a closure on the northbound side of the bridge for nearly 45 minutes.

Nassau County Police Department’s Marine Bureau transported the worker the Mount Sinai South Nassau’s emergency dock in Long Beach before an ambulance took him to MSSN in Oceanside, where he is in stable condition.