Farmer (25) ends up in a pikdorser in Germany: top surgeon has to cut off both legs on site | Abroad

The incident happened at 4 p.m. Saturday, near Hohen Luckow, 200 kilometers north of Berlin. Three people in their twenties were harvesting when the pick thresher – a Claas Lexion 770 of no less than 25 tons – suddenly indicated that there was a technical error in pushing the grain. There was a blockage in the grain tank.

According to a reconstruction by the German newspaper ‘Bild’, the pilot (25) of the aircraft, together with his colleague (25), decided to climb onto the machine and use shovels to loosen the stuck grain. He asked their helper (24) to sit in the driver’s seat so that the engine could continue to run. Thanks to a safety mechanism, the machine switches off automatically when the driver stands up.

When the two men had climbed onto the roof of the six-metre-high pick-thresher, the man who was first behind the wheel suddenly received a phone call. While he was talking, the other farmer decided to get to work. That’s when things went wrong.

The man slipped and, according to initial reports, fell into the half-full hopper of the grain tank. Grain is propelled there via a 44-centimetre rotary auger at the bottom of the tank to a grab arm, which drops the grain into a parallel-driving bucket. The victim got stuck in the twist drill with both legs and was pulled in up to his waist the next moment.

The victim screamed so loudly that the helper behind the wheel heard the screams and immediately stopped the machine. He called the emergency services and they were on site in less than 10 minutes. However, the MUG team and the fire brigade quickly realized that they could not free the victim and called in extra help.

An hour later, a top surgeon and his team of six doctors and a surgical nurse were helicoptered to the scene. The surgeon had no choice but to cut off both of the farmer’s legs to save his life, an operation that took nearly two hours. Just before 7 p.m., the victim was transferred to the University Hospital of Rostock.

The authorities have now launched an investigation. That must find out how the accident could have happened and who ultimately decided to run the engine of the machine, something that is prohibited when repairing defects. This requires a testimony from the victim, but that could not yet be questioned. The man is out of danger and is already reacting, but is not yet ready to tell his story.

If there is a question of bodily injury due to negligence, the person responsible can be punished with a prison sentence of up to three years and a fine. The picker has been seized.