Updated: Man Who Fell in Hole in Salt Pile in Newington, NH Rescued

A man who fell into a hole in a salt pile in Newington was rescued on Monday.

The 43-year-old man, who was a worker for Morton Salt, was stuck in the hole for hours as emergency rescue crews from Newington and surrounding communities worked to free him at 372 Shattuck Way.

Crews were called just after 1 pm. and were able to get the man out around 5 p.m.

Crews could be seen departing the scene at about 5:30 p.m.

The man was transported to a local hospital as a precautionary measure.

The man was working to remove the tarps that cover the salt piles when he fell into the hole. He was stuck as the salt came up to his waist at the bottom of the hole.

Rescuers used a five-gallon bucket to have the man remove the salt around him so he could be extracted. The hole was only about 18 inches wide at the top, so it was a tight squeeze.

Hear from Fire Chief E.J. Hoyt who says that they came up with a number of contingency plans on Monday afternoon when they realized a 43-year-old man was trapped waist-deep after falling into a hole on a salt pile. Click here.

Fire officials in Dover said they were happy to assist. They posted the following on Facebook:

Sprague leases the land where the salt piles are to Morton Salt. A delivery was expected and that is why the workers were on-site.

Founded in 1870 as a distributor of coal and petroleum-based products, Sprague markets products to over 20,000 retail, commercial, industrial, utility and wholesale customers, according to their website.

Shana Hoch, a spokesperson for Sprague, said on Tuesday they were grateful for all the crews who turned out to assist.

"We're just grateful they took their time. He was conscious the whole time, which I think was helpful," Hoch said.