Atlanta firefighters rescue man buried alive in mud (VIDEO)

GlobalPost

A man buried alive in mud on an Atlanta construction site was the subject of a dramatic rescue by firefighters caught on video.

The man was walking near the construction site when he apparently slipped and fell in the mud.

Another pedestrian happened to walk by and notice a muddy arm moving, according to WSBTV in Atlanta.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, the man was reportedly so submersed that they could barely see him.

“I think he walked in and possibly got stuck to the point of exhaustion and then passed out,” Atlanta Fire Department Battalion Chief David Rhodes told WSBTV.

According to ABC News, firefighters held the man's face above the mud so that he could breathe until they could extract him, which took inside an hour.

The rescuers first made a floating, plywood bridge to him, authorities told WSBTV. While one group of firefighters rigged up ropes, another group made a floating catwalk to him.

"At one time, his face went under and the Grady medic was able to get his face up and actually scoop the mud out of his mouth," Rhodes said. "We also had a firefighter stuck trying to get him that we thought we were going to have to get, and a Grady medic partially stuck here."

Firefighters said they got the man into the ambulance so quickly, they never got his name.

The man was expected to make a full recovery, according to the New York Daily News.

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