Wanted to save cell phone

Australian man stuck in a manhole for 36 hours

An Australian man who wanted to find his dropped cell phone was stuck in a manhole for 36 hours (symbolic image).

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/mischu11)

An Australian man who tried to rescue his fallen cell phone spent 36 hours in a manhole. The man had climbed into the sewers in Brisbane at the weekend and got stuck. He refused an offer of help from a passer-by.

James Lingwood said that he heard screams coming from the drain while jogging on Sunday. He then discovered the Australian, who was knee-deep in water. "You don't often see someone in the drain, especially because there are rats, snakes, mosquitoes and all sorts of things."

Lingwood asked the 30-year-old if he was OK and needed help. The man refused, however, as he could find his own way out of the sewers. "So I just left him alone. He didn't want my help," he told the Courier Mail newspaper.

Local resident alerted the fire department
However, the Australian was apparently unable to help himself. On Monday, a local resident heard loud wheezing coming from a manhole and alerted the fire department. They lifted the manhole cover and freed the man. It had rained a lot in Brisbane in the past few days. A lot of water had therefore flowed through the sewer, which the man had also drunk.

As he was hypothermic and had sustained abrasions, the 30-year-old was taken to hospital. It was not initially known whether he was at least able to save his cell phone.