A cemetery worker was left seriously injured after plunging nearly 10ft into an open grave while cleaning a headstone.
The unnamed employee had been carrying out maintenance work when he suddenly fell into the 9.8ft-deep (3m) cavity on Saturday (21 Feb) morning.
The horror accident happened at Torrevieja Municipal Cemetery, south-west of Benidorm, Spain, as reported by Need To Know.
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The man suffered a serious back injury in the fall and was unable to climb out of the deep hole.
Emergency services – including several fire crews, paramedics and police officers – rushed to the scene after receiving the alarm.
Rescuers decided there was no need to evacuate the entire cemetery, instead cordoning off the area around the plot.
Firefighters then lowered a ladder into the grave and carefully descended to stabilise the injured worker.
An inflatable rescue mattress was used to lift him out without worsening his injuries.
He was later taken to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment.
The frightening incident comes just months after a 46-year-old woman fell into a grave in Navahermosa.
She reportedly slipped on wet ground during rainy weather and plunged around 6.6ft (2m) into the open hole.
Firefighters used a pulley system to haul her to safety before she was taken to Nuestra Señora del Prado General Hospital in Talavera de la Reina with minor injuries.
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