(LaGrange County, IN) - A northern Indiana hunter suffered serious injuries while wrangling with some equipment earlier this week.

The accident happened Monday afternoon in Shipshewana.

According to the Department of Natural Resources, a hunter was up in a tree trying to remove a hunting stand when its supporting cables broke.

The 36-year-old Middlebury man fell 17 feet to the ground. He was able to access his cell phone and call for help. Conservation officers and other first responders tended to the man, who was airlifted to a Ft. Wayne hospital.

The DNR reported him to be in serious condition with injuries to his legs.