HOUSTON – A man is lucky to be alive after being stuck in a manhole in southwest Houston for days, police say.
The man, who police said was homeless, was found just after 3 a.m. Monday after he fell 15 feet into the hole at a construction site in the 12100 block of South Sam Houston Parkway.
Public Works officials said flooding from Hurricane Harvey might have caused the cover to come off the hole and that other manhole covers in the area that were missing.
According to officials, the man, who had been living under a bridge, was walking through the field when he fell into the manhole.
He told rescuers he's been there "for a few days."
Firefighters used a tripod, ladder and a harness to rescue the man.
"We did use a ladder to get down there to him, once we got our men down there, we pulled our ladder out of there and pulled him up," said Senior Captain Josh LaCour with the Houston Fire Department.
CAUGHT ON CAMERA!!! Man rescued from manhole under Beltway and 59. HFD says He was there for 6 days!! Details at 430am! KPRC2 / Click2Houston
Posted by KPRC2 Sofia Ojeda on Monday, October 16, 2017
Fire officials said he did not have any food or water while he was trapped.
He suffered a broken foot and was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital. His condition was not immediately known.
Witnesses said the man was not very talkative, but he was alert. They said they gave him water before he was taken to the hospital.
"He was very fragile his head was slumped down where he was tired, they gave him chips and water," said witness David Rodriguez.
Crews are working to replace missing manhole covers. Anyone who sees a missing cover should call 311.
