KERSEY — A Greentree Landfill employee was buried by trash at the landfill along Toby Road in Kersey on Wednesday afternoon. Rescue workers were still trying to free the employee at press time Wednesday night.

Ridgway-based state police trooper Bruce Morris, a spokesman for Troop C, said five employees were working at the site at 2:50 p.m. Wednesday afternoon when the garbage shifted for an unknown reason.

Morris said four of the employees were able to escape or were rescued, but one person was still missing. The names of the employees have not been released by authorities.

The garbage landslide occurred at an area of the landfill where trash is dumped by trucks. The employee that is missing was operating a compactor, which is a large piece of equipment that is about 14 feet tall, Morris said he was told.

Morris said the employees had been spreading and compacting the trash at the place where the trash-slide occurred. The area that had to be covered is very large, he said, but the accident occurred in one of the cells, which is a contained area at Greentree.

Morris emphasized that the accident had not been turned over to the state police at press time because no one was known to have died, and it was still considered a rescue mission. He worked to answer questions from the press but said some information was unknown at this time.

Truck after truck loaded with heavy equipment was hauled to the landfill to try and free the worker. Lights also had to be brought in as darkness began to fall, Morris said. Emergency services, including fire departments, ambulance services, Elkland Search and Rescue and the state police, were assisting with the rescue at the landfill.

Meanwhile, a state police helicopter was flown in to try and detect any heat coming from the trash heap that might help rescuers find the missing man.

Morris, who has been working at the Ridgway barracks since 1999, said there have not been any major issues at the landfill during his time with Ridgway-based state police.