Age 11 Boy Sucked into Flooded Storm Sewer. 30 Feet Away, He Sees Fingers in Manhole Cover
A state of emergency was declared in Wisconsin in six counties due to heavy rains and flash floods battering many areas in the state.
According to The Weather Channel, the rain has caused multiple mudslides and forced some residents to evacuate certain areas.
Weather like this is dangerous and can’t be taken lightly. While it may appear to be a little bit of water, currents can be stronger than one might realize.
Children in particular should not be playing anywhere near floodwaters. There is just too much at risk and the weather and water can be unpredictable.
Thankfully, what could have ended in tragedy in Calumet County turned into a rescue.
An 11-year-old boy who was playing in a flooded drainage ditch was taken under, ABC 18 WQOW reported.
With the floodwaters as strong as they were, an impossible feat was posed for rescuers searching for the young man.
But a firefighter with the eyes of a superhero is being hailed just that after spying the boy’s fingers amidst the floodwaters.
The boy went missing around 6:00 p.m. on Aug. 28 and was in the sewer for around 40 minutes before he was found, ABC 2 WBAY reported.
The news source disclosed that a 911 call had come in about the young man. “He put his goggles on to go underwater to see what was there, and he didn’t come back up,” the caller said.
It is thanks to Deputy Fire Chief Wesley Pompa of Harrison, Wisconsin, that the boy’s location was determined. The news sources said Pompa had been standing 30 feet off when he happened to catch the boy’s fingers in his vision.
They were sticking out of a manhole cover. The boy was taken to the hospital following the rescue and is reportedly doing fine.
“Chances are he probably popped up in that spot because that was the first spot where there was an air pocket,” Chief Amos Mikkelson told WGXA. “And so his body, probably to float, got there and he realized there’s a handle and started just pulling himself up because that was where there was air.”
“I just thank God he was alive and he’d made it that long,” Pompa told ABC 18 WQOW. “It could have gone a million different ways but this one way it worked out for him.”
Anyone affected by these storms and floods should practice caution. We are glad the boy is safe and our thoughts and prayers for safety are with those who may still be in harm’s way.
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