Worker Rescued After Being Buried in Peanuts for 5 Hours
A worker fell down a loading chute and was sucked into a storage bin, where he was trapped under a mountain of peanuts for five hours Tuesday before rescuers were able to dig him out, authorities said.
Roosevelt Roberts was helping to load a bin at Seaboard’s Farmer Peanut Market when he fell face down into it and the peanuts caved in around him, said Ottis Wheeler, chief deputy for the North Hampton County Sheriff’s Department.
About 50 persons, including deputies, farmers and other volunteers, took turns using buckets and shovels to dig Roberts out. Workers knew Roberts was alive because they would periodically push a pole into the peanuts, and Roberts would push it back, Wheeler said.
The loosely packed peanuts helped prevent Roberts from suffocating, Wheeler said.
When he was pulled from the bin, Roberts complained of being cold and said his lungs were full of dust, Wheeler said. Roberts was taken to Halifax Memorial Hospital in Roanoke Rapids, where he was listed in satisfactory condition.
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