A 51-year-old workman was in "stable condition" in hospital yesterday after getting crushed in an industrial lift.

The Pembroke man, who works for Bermuda Forwarders Ltd, was taking a box off a truck when his leg apparently got stuck in a tail-light lift on Par-la-Ville Road.

Willard Rudderham, an conditioning technician working nearby, was first on the scene and called 911 at 2.24 p.m.

He said he heard a loud scream and immediately rushed to the truck.

The man was crouched on the ground and blood was spurting from his leg, near the groin area, Mr. Rudderham said.

"He was talking when I got to him a few seconds after it happened," he said. "He said that he got squished in the lift."

Another woman who was walking down the street said the man had managed to pry himself free before he fell to the ground.

The man appeared to lose a large amount of blood.

His co-workers said they were not sure what happened because the man was alone outside while they were working in a nearby building.

The Police and Fire Service arrived within five minutes and started to administer first aid. The man told an officer, before an oxygen mask was placed on his face: "I took my hand off the button but it kept going."

Co workers explained that the button controlled the lift. The lift is supposed to stop the minute someone takes their hand off the button.

Police were busy collecting witness statements and were unable to confirm what witnesses told The Royal Gazette, they confirmed that it was an industrial accident.

The man was rushed to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where he was taken to the operating room. Last night he was reported to be in "stable" condition.