Aug. 30 (UPI) — An 11-year-old Wisconsin boy was rescued after getting sucked into a draining ditch due to heavy rain in the area, officials said Tuesday.
The boy was playing in Harrison, Wis. with friends near the culvert of the ditch after the storms passed but rain was still falling and three feet of water was still on the road, WBAY-TV reported.
The kids were playing by going under the water with goggles. And when the 11-year-old boy went under, he didn’t come back up.
The boy was swept into the drainage ditch and drifted approximately 30 feet away. But he was able to find an air pocket underneath a manhole cover to keep breathing, the Appleton Post-Crescent reported.
“Considering how dark it was … it really probably is more of a miracle,” said Harrison Fire Chief Amos Mikkelson. “Chances are he probably popped up in that spot because it was the first spot where there was an air pocket. … He realized there was a handle and started to pull himself up because there was air.
Rescue workers combed the area. And about 40 minutes after the boy first went under, it was through the holes of the manhole cover that a rescue worker saw the boy’s fingers, leading to his rescue.
The boy was conscious and alert when he was rescued and did not appear to be injured.
“This was a very scary situation to experience it had a good outcome,” the Harrison Fire Rescue said on Facebook.
