Man walks after becoming trapped five metres underground

A young man has been rescued after becoming trapped about five metres underground in Melbourne’s north-west.

Emergency services were called to Lincoln Street, Essendon, just after 2.30pm following reports of a trench collapse.

The contract worker was completing underground maintenance on a sewer system in the street, when one of the internal walls fell down on him. 

“He was up to his neck (in dirt),” Commander Guy Mccrorie from the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) said.

Dozens of firefighters and police worked to free the man, giving him an oxygen mask during the ordeal.

The 9NEWS helicopter camera captured the moment the stuck man, visibly muddied, walked from the trench onto a stretcher about 4pm.

“He was in good spirits, very happy…he was more concerned about us cutting his boots off,” Commander Guy Mccrorie from the Metropolitan Fire Brigade said.

He has been taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, but his condition remains unknown.

WorkSafe are now investigating the incident.