Pelican Rapids Area Farmer Buried in Grain Bin Rescued Without Injury

The man was given oxygen while still trapped but came out unharmed.

PELICAN RAPIDS, M.N.–Some luck and good training saved the life of a farmer trapped at the bottom of a bin, buried by hundreds of bushels of ground corn at a farm just south of Pelican Rapids.

Fire Chief Trevor Steeves says the victim was cleaning out a plugged feed line when he tripped a sensor, which flooded the bin with the grain. The portion of the bin where the man was trapped was underground. He says the man was completely buried but enough of the grain was moved so he could breathe.

A line of firefighters formed a line, then began using a bucket to scoop out the grain one bucket at a time. A large industrial vacuum was then brought in to suck out the remainder of the grain.

The man was given oxygen while still trapped but came out unharmed. The rescue took about two hours.

Steeves has had extensive training on such rescues but he says very few victims survive these types of accidents. He says the 70-year old man is “fortunate.”