(ABC 6 News) — In Kentucky, a long and tiring rescue in the rubble at a construction site has come to an end.

The tense and, at times, tedious rescue played out in Louisville over the course of nine hours.

The fire chief said a man working at a construction site fell into a “void” plunging 10-12 feet down, instantly becoming buried by gravel and large chunks of concrete.

The rescue team had to dig him out by hand.

“We are moving tons and tons of debris by hand, by buckets, Imagine a person at the bottom of a funnel. You have to shore up everything else that’s going to keep cascading down to create a safe space and then continue to dig this person out,” said Chief Brian O’Neill.

The man was finally pulled to safety around 8:30 p.m. last night and was treated at the hospital.