Orland Park

Man Rescued After Falling 20 Feet in Suburban Sewer

“It is an amazing outcome for a very unusual incident”

A man was rescued Saturday evening from a sewer in southwest suburban Orland Park after he used his cellphone to call for help.

The man was apparently walking south on Harlem Avenue near 143rd Street at about 5:50 p.m. when he fell into a 20-foot-deep manhole, Fire Chief Ken Brucki of the Orland Park Fire Protection District told reporters at the scene. He called 911 when he realized he had hurt his leg and couldn’t move, Brucki said.

Firefighters spent 15 minutes looking for the man and lost contact with him at one point, but they were able to reach him again, Brucki said.

Crews pulled the man out and took him to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where his condition was not known Saturday night, officials aid. He suffered “some trauma” to the lower part of his body, Brucki said.

“It is an amazing outcome for a very unusual incident,” Brucki said.

Copyright CHIST - SunTimes
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