CLARKFIELD — A man died when a skid loader slid into a drainage ditch Wednesday in rural Clarkfield, the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office said. The body of Dustin Lucius Virkus, 51, of Clarkfield was recovered from the skid loader, which was submerged in the ditch.

Around 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, the Sheriff’s Office received a call reporting that a person in a skid loader had slid into a drainage ditch near the 2900 block of 440th Street, in rural Clarkfield. The call reported that the loader operator was trapped in the vehicle. When they arrived at the scene, emergency responders found the skid loader on its side, fully submerged in the ditch, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Rescue teams were able to recover the skid loader operator “after an extended effort,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Virkus was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Clarkfield Fire Department, Clarkfield Ambulance, Granite Falls Ambulance, the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office, Wing Bain Funeral Home, and DHT Towing all responded to the incident.