HAVERHILL — A 25-year-old landscaper was airlifted to a Boston hospital yesterday after severing his right hand while operating a wood splitter at 133 Neck Road in Haverhill’s Ward Hill neighborhood, police said.

Police could not say whether the hospital had been able to re-attach the hand. Spokesmen for Brigham and Women’s Hospital did not return a phone call.

The landscaper, Joel Perez-Estaban of Haverhill, was able to walk to the road and flag down a motorist for a ride to Merrimack Valley Hospital, also in Haverhill, said police Sgt. John Arahovites.

Perez-Estaban’s employer, Kevin Spicer, who owns Uptown Landscaping, returned to the work site to retrieve the hand, which was packed in ice and airlifted to Brigham and Woman’s Hospital along with Perez-Estaban, Arahovites said.

Jeff Erskine, area director of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is investigating the accident, Arahovites said.