A man was rescued Saturday from an 18-inch underground drain pipe in Riverside after being trapped for three days, according to Riverside police.
Riverside police and fire departments received a call around 11:40 a.m. for “reports of someone screaming for help in the drainage tunnel,” according to the incident report.
Riverside Fire Chief Greg White said the man was 20 feet into the pipe and “had no way to escape.”
“It was a small pipe,” said Capt. Steve Hallgreen, the department’s public information officer, so it sounded like he was stuck “because of the size.”
The Riverside Fire Department and Riverside Police Department are on scene responding to a situation involving a man trapped in a drain pipe.
(Live TV)
Hallgreen said crews assembled a technical rescue team with the appropriate equipment and it took about two hours to free the man. Corona Urban Search and Rescue was also requested for assistance, the incident report said.
Video from OnScene.TV showed some first responders at the scene preparing their equipment. They also had to clear a lot of debris from the pipes first.
Holgreen said the man may have entered the pipe from a canal that runs along the railroad tracks near Riverside Commerce and Cottage streets. The pipe is located below the surface, parallel to the ground, and drains into a canal.
“He was brought out the same way he was brought in,” he said.
The man was initially treated at the scene for unknown injuries and was later transported to a local hospital where he is currently in stable condition. Video shows him being placed on a stretcher.
Police closed train tracks used by several lines while the fire department carried out rescue operations.
Holgreen said it’s “very rare” for the department to receive a call about someone trapped in a pipe.