Cemetery worker freed from Eltham grave

A man has been rescued after spending about two hours trapped in a grave at Eltham Cemetery this morning.

Crews are working to free a man trapped in a grave at Eltham. Picture: ABC

A cemetery worker is free after spending hours trapped into an open grave in Melbourne’s northeast.

The man, aged in his 40s, suffered a broken leg after falling into an empty grave at Eltham Cemetery, off Metery Rd, shortly before 8am.

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The man fell into an empty grave at Eltham. Picture: ABC

The man is believed to have fallen into the two-metre deep grave early this morning. Picture: ABC

The man has suffered a leg injury. Picture: ABC

Metropolitan Fire Brigade, Country Fire Authority and SES crews managed to free the man just before 10am.

“One of the cemetery workers here fell in a grave at about eight o’clock this morning as he was moving some steel plating off the top of the open grave,” CFA incident controller Gavin Wright told 3AW.

“He fell forward into the grave and he broke his leg as he landed at the bottom.

“Quite painful but luckily not life-threatening injuries.

“CFA and MFB crews have put some timber shoring around the grave ... then we’ve just lifted him out in the last ten minutes with some harnesses.”

The man has been taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with a leg injury, Ambulance Victoria said.

A man has fallen into a newly dug grave at Eltham, in Melbourne's north-east, this morning.
The man in his 40s has suffered leg injuries. Emergency services are working to free him. pic.twitter.com/qAub62zoQ1

— ABC Melbourne (@abcmelbourne) February 25, 2019

The rescue operation came less than 24 hours after two men were freed from a trench at High St, Epping.

The four-metre deep trench collapsed about noon yesterday.

One man in his 20s was rescued and taken to The Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition with a leg injury.

The second man, aged in his 50s, was also taken to hospital in a stable condition with suspected crush injuries.

— with AAP