A California man who was trapped underground in a storm pipe the "width of a large pizza," was rescued in a massive effort that lasted hours and involved at least 50 firefighters, police officers, and rescue personnel.
According to a report from The Guardian, officials freed the man from the 16in pipe around 9:30 P.M. on Sunday, March 20, in the San Francisco Bay Area. “When we finally got him out of the ground, he was beyond exuberant. He was beyond happy to be above ground,” Steve Hill, a spokesperson for the Contra Costa County fire protection district told the paper.
The man, who is in his mid-30s, managed to come out of the pipe uninjured but did show signs of dehydration and was taken to a hospital for evaluation. Hill said the man entered the stormwater system intentionally and reached the area of the narrow pipe and became stuck. “He couldn’t get through and he couldn’t go back."
The man told officials he had been trapped underground for about two days before a passerby heard his screams for help and called 911.
“Somehow people passing by on a walking path some distance away from the stormwater system managed to hear his cries for help," said Hill. "That’s fairly miraculous because it was pretty windy out there."
The massive rescue operation took four firefighters and rescue crews entering the underground area near Buchanan Road in Antioch from two directions, reports the Guardian. Tree branches, garbage, and other debris had to be cleared to reach the man.