A PEDESTRIAN was today pulled alive from under a 32-tonne lorry following a dramatic two-hour rescue operation which involved more than a dozen people.

The man, who has not been named, regained consciousness and was transferred to Blackburn Royal Infirmary after the vehicle toppled onto him as it turned onto the M65 link road from the A666 Bolton Road at Earcroft, Darwen, at 7am. The man is understood to have become wedged between huge reels of paper which landed on either side of him as the lorry overturned.

Paramedics from Blackburn and Darwen Ambulance Stations joined two accident and emergency crews from Blackburn Royal Infirmary, three fire engines, an incident support unit and hydraulic platform all at the scene trying to free the man.

A consultant from the hospital, who was passing at the time of the accident, also stopped to help in the rescue operation.

Sgt Stuart Isherwood, of Accrington traffic unit, said an accident investigation team would determine what had caused the vehicle, which belongs to Kenley Distribution and Warehousing in Darwen, to fall.

He went on: "The man appears to have been walking along the pavement when the wagon has toppled over. He has been trapped from the waist down under the vehicle and safety railings at the side of the road.

"There is a phenomenon which is known as a slow rollover that could have caused this vehicle to topple but until the team has thoroughly investigated the incident we can not say exactly what has happened here."

The man, who was unconscious when emergency crew arrived, regained consciousness as crew battled to free him and was talking by the time he was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary in an ambulance at 8.45am.

A police spokesman said he had sustained serious but survivable leg injuries but lost a lot of blood at the scene due to internal injuries.

Firefighters cut the roof from the vehicle in a bid to remove the bales of paper inside and a hydraulic platform and recovery crane arrived to clear the vehicle from the road.

The A666 remained open and traffic flowed throughout the operation, though the link road to the motorway was closed.

A spokeswoman for Kenley Distribution and Warehousing said the company was aware of the accident but that nobody was available to comment.

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