SKOWHEGAN — A 7-year-old boy was rushed to a local hospital and then flown to Portland Friday after a large boulder rolled onto his right arm, crushing it, police said.

Skowhegan police Chief David Bucknam said just after 7 p.m. Friday that the boy was building a fort in his backyard on Russell Road around 4 p.m. and as he was doing so, a 500- to 600-pound boulder rolled forward, pinning his arm under it.

“His arm was severely crushed under the rock,” Bucknam said.

Multiple Skowhegan police, firefighters and Redington-Fairview General Hospital EMS workers lifted the rock off the boy, according to Bucknam.

“They all gathered around the rock and lifted it up in the air,” he said.

RFGH EMS ambulance rushed the boy, who was conscious, to a helicopter pad across the street from the hospital in Skowhegan, where a LifeFlight helicopter arrived from Lewiston and flew him to a Portland hospital, according to Bucknam, who declined to identify the boy by name.

“Our hearts and prayers go out to the family and young child right now and we hope for a quick recovery so he can get home,” Bucknam said.

Reached Saturday, Bucknam said police did not have an update on the boy’s condition.

Russell Road runs from Spring Street, off Madison Avenue in Skowhegan, all the way to Route 148 in Madison several miles away.

Morning Sentinel reporter Jake Freudberg contributed reporting.