Dramatic footage captured the moment a construction worker who fell 30 feet down a New York City manhole was rescued by first responders.
A 35-year-old construction worker fell into an open manhole near West 170th Street in Washington Heights around 8:45 a.m. on November 20, a NYPD spokesperson told The Independent on Friday.
Bodycam footage shared by the NYPD shows Emergency Service Unit officers securing the scene before lowering at least one officer and a New York City firefighter down the manhole.
As the officer was getting ready to be lowered, someone in the video notes that the rungs on the side to help him step down had rotted away, making it more difficult to maneuver.
Video shows the first responders wearing reflective vests instructing each other on how to get the equipment down the manhole to help the worker, who had fallen 30 feet below.
“You’re alright. He’s alright,” an officer can be heard saying as the group pulls the injured construction worker, who is lying on a backboard, up to safety.
EMS rushed the man to New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center in stable condition, the NYPD spokesperson said.
According to the New York Daily News, the worker who fell was treated at the hospital and released.
“One unexpected drop. One expert rescue,” the NYPD News account wrote on X, sharing footage of the daring rescue.
“When a construction worker fell through a manhole cover, @NYPDSpecialops ESU secured the scene, worked with @FDNY to safely reach him, and get them medical care.”
