Worker in 'stable condition' after being dragged into planing machine at West Point Veneer in West Point, Virginia

Audrey Dixon

LOS ANGELES , May 25, 2012 (Industry Intelligence) – A worker is in hospital after being dragged into a planer at West Point Veneer in West Point, Virginia, according to a report by KLTV.

The machine had to be dismantled to free the worker after the accident happened last Thursday afternoon, and a surgeon was called.

Andrew Smith, a responding firefighter, said no-one was sure how the accident had happened. Reports said it took two hours to free the victim who was pulled into the planer feet first.

West Point Volunteer Fire Dept. chief Thomas Wyatt said a lot of hard work and teamwork went into freeing the worker as responders had to dismantle a machine comprising pieces weighing in excess of hundreds of pounds.

West Point Veneers said in a statement on Friday morning that the worker was in stable condition at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center.

According to media reports, the man lost a leg as a result of the accident, which is now under investigation.

The primary source of this article is KLTV, West Point Virginia, on May 25, 2012.

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