This is the moment Chinese firefighters lift a maintenance worker out of a flooded hole after a pipe burst and his leg became trapped in the thick sludge with the water level slowly rising.

The incident took place at a school in Dingtao District in the city of Heze in China’s Shandong Province when the man was carrying out maintenance at the school and the pipe burst during the maintenance work.

Firefighters were called and to prevent the maintenance worker from sinking into the sludge and drowning, they tied a hose around him below his armpits.

The firefighters were unable to use their tools due to all the water and mud, so they used their hands to dig out the mud and free his leg, according to local media.

The rescue took about 90 minutes and finally the maintenance worker, who has not been named, was freed, as seen in the footage when the firefighters hoist him to safety using their makeshift harness.

He is not thought to have been injured in the incident. It is also unclear what caused the pipe to burst.