Abstract: On April 25, 2003, employees were engaged in the retrofit of a well casing and pump in an existing hand-dug water well. The well was stone lined and was approximately 79 feet deep. Employees stated that they used a combination of a rope, ladder, and skid loader to lower Employee #1, the job foreman, into the well to retrieve a wedged piece of PVC pipe. They stated they attached the rope through the open top rung of a 20-foot extension ladder and attached the two rope ends to the holes on each side of the skid loader's bucket. They then lowered Employee #1 down on the extension ladder to reach the pipe. As they were raising him back up, the rope shifted and cut on a stone at the wells edge, sending the ladder and Employee #1 to the bottom of the well. The water depth at the bottom of the well was approximately 9 feet. Employee #1 was extracted from the well by an emergency advanced rescue team. He sustained a lower leg hairline fracture and some contusions. Employee #1 was treated at the hospital and released the same day.