Stock image of an ambulance in motion.Photo:Getty

Stock image of an ambulance in motion

Getty

Fire officials in Manchester toldFox affiliate WFXTthat a garbage truck driver had noticed the woman, who has not been identified, through a camera in the truck after the garbage had already been compacted four times and called 911 for help to get the woman out.

The Manchester Township Fire Department arrived on the scene at Beech Hill Drive around 1 p.m. local time, according toABC affiliate WMUR. Officials toldBoston.comthat the woman was able to stand and speak but wasn’t alert enough to answer questions from firefighters who spoke to her through a side panel of the truck.

“I have never seen one like this,” Manchester Fire Chief Ryan Cashin toldNBC affiliate WBTSabout the incident. He went on to say that the firefighters “assess the situation,” adding, “They know the tools they have, the training they have, and they put it all together and they make rescues.”

In order to rescue the woman, firefighters entered the garbage truck through the roof and used a basket attached to a fire truck crane to pull her out of the truck, WMUR reported.

The Manchester Township Fire Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment on the incident.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Neighbor Amanda Czzowitz, who witnessed the incident, told WFXT, “All you heard was screaming. She was in agony.”

As for how the woman got into the garbage truck, fire officials told WFXT that they believed she had been thrown from a dumpster into the truck on Beech Hill Drive.

“It’s alarming, because you don’t really think it’s true,” Battalion Chief Bob Beaudet told WMUR. “You don’t think it really happens, but in this day and age, times are tough, and people do different things. So, that was definitely one for the books.”

source: people.com