An employee's hand was severed at the forearm while he was using a concrete mixer this morning at a Franklin Township business.

Emergency crews did not identify the man, who is believed to be in his late-40s. He was taken by ambulance to a Pittsburgh hospital.

The accident happened about 9:15 a.m. at Semper Concrete on New Castle Road.

“He was cleaning out the mixer and his hand got caught in the mixer,” said Ken Wilson, chief of the Prospect Volunteer Fire Department.

The man's right hand “was amputated slightly above the wrist,” Wilson said.

The company's plant manager, who did not want to be identified, said the man has worked there for “many years.” He was working with three other employees in the production plant when the accident occurred.A medical helicopter was initially called but it was later cancelled due to the weather.The man's hand was preserved in a bag, authorities said, and a Butler Ambulance Service crew drove him to Allegheny General Hospital. His condition was not immediately available.