Downstate man rescued from grain bin

CHATHAM -- A 60-year-old man is in serious but stable condition after spending four hours buried to his chin in a central Illinois grain bin filled with soybeans.

Springfield Fire Department Division Chief Bob Reside (REE'-side) said the man became trapped about noon Monday after his foot got caught in an auger, a device used to clear grain from the bin. The man's name is not being released.

Reside said the bin in the community of Chatham is about 30 feet tall and 30 feet wide.

Fire and rescue crews and neighboring farmers helped in the effort to free the man, including boring holes in the bin's side and keeping the man's chest and airway clear.

The bin had to be emptied before the man was released. He was taken by helicopter to St. John's Hospital in Springfield with severe lower leg injuries.