NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Firefighters rescued a man who fell 25 feet down a shaft on a street in Brooklyn Wednesday.

Rescuers hoisted the man on a backboard through an open grate at Fulton and Downing Streets in Fort Greene.

The incident took place at around 11:30 a.m.

Officials say the man is an MTA worker who was running a power cable. The worker was tethered to a rope and leaning over an open grate when the rope broke, plunging him down the shaft.

As CBS2’s Meg Baker reported, Fire Chief John Rozas said the man plunged head first.

“He was pretty seriously injured. We put a backboard on him, and they removed him via high angle rescue,” Rozas said.

Workers in the area who witnessed the man being pulled out of the grate said it’s part of the job.

“We working in street holes, everyday same thing,” Orlando Cruz said.

Cruz captured video of the crane lifting the worker out and being put on a stretcher, another construction worker saw the aftermath.

“He was bruised up in the face. His face was bruised up on the mouth and the head,” Leroy said.

His coworker called 911. The MTA would not comment due to the ongoing investigation.

The man was rushed to Kings County Hospital in serious condition.