Man dies after getting stuck in soy bean silo

INDIANAPOLIS — A 32-year-old man died Saturday after being stuck in a silo for ten hours.

The Indianapolis Fire Department says Marvin Tyler was trapped in soybean product about 100 feet down in the silo, located in the 1100 block of West 18th Street. Firefighters say he was nonresponsive and air monitoring showed an oxygen deficient atmosphere.

Multiple agencies were on scene, and twelve rescuers from IFD and Hancock County entered the silo to mitigate the rescue.

"For rescuers, the constant shift of the soy bean product became the biggest obstacle and rescuers reported that every time progress was made in removing it from around the victim, it would slide back down and put them back to square one," IFD public information officer Rita Reith said in a news release. "Every attempt to stabilize the area around the victim, his position on a slope and near the wall, proved to be extremely frustrating for crews valiantly trying to remove him."

Crews got to the scene around 12:30 p.m. and Tyler was freed from the silo around 10:30 p.m.

Bunge, an oil seed processing plant that stores soy beans, has contractors that are investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident.

"Our thoughts are with the family as they grieve the unexpected loss of Mr. Tyler," Reith said.