A mission to rescue a man trapped inside of a grain bin eventually turned into a recovery effort Tuesday evening northeast of Morden.

Dozens of firefighters from the Morden and Winkler fire departments responded to the call around 5 p.m. with six vehicles and other emergency equipment.

Morden Fire Chief Andy Thiessen says, in spite of their efforts, the victim passed away before crews could get to him.

"We did find the gentleman later on in the evening. We had about 40 to 50 firefighters out there working real hard to try to get to him, but unfortunately, we weren't able to get to him fast enough," said Thiessen.

Vehicles were on scene for several hours, until about 11 p.m., with crews working in shifts shovelling grain in order to recover the victim.

STARS Air Ambulance was also dispatched to the site to aid in the rescue efforts to try and retrieve the victim out of the top of the grain bin but was unsuccessful.

Neighbouring farmers have since joined forces to help the family reclaim some of the grain lost in the efforts, relieving some of the burden on the family.