A crane operator became trapped Friday morning when the crane slid down an embankment and became partially submerged in the Papio Creek.

The operator, 66-year-old Lawrence Larson, was pinned inside the cab for nearly an hour at the old Aksarben property near 67th and West Center Road.

Firefighters were able to remove Larson using the Jaws of Life. "It had some problems extricating him out of the cab of the crane just because of the position it was laying in the water," said Tony Lang of the Omaha Fire Department.

Larson was treated for hypothermia and remains at the Nebraska Medical Center in fair condition.

Slippery pads on the crane may have contributed to it tipping over.

Papio Creek's water will not be tainted from the accident, that's the conclusion from the initial investigation.

"I don’t think it's going to have much of an impact at all because everything seems to be contained within the crane itself as far as diesel and oil and stuff, nothing's actually spilled out of it," said Doug Fauble of Eco-Solutions.

Crews worked all day to lift the crane out of the water. They said it weighs nearly 140,000 pounds.