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Officials: Man Pulled From Sewer System After Being Stuck Underground For Day

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WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS/AP) — Fire officials in Delaware say a man they pulled from a sewer system told rescuers he'd spent at least a day stuck underground.

The News Journal reports roughly 30 firefighters and paramedics were called to a Wilmington intersection around 1:45 p.m. Saturday after a passer-by reported hearing a voice coming from a nearby sewer grate.

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Michael Schaal is a battalion chief with the city's fire department. He tells the newspaper two rescuers were lowered into the sewer, found the man and pulled him out about 22 minutes after the department arrived on scene.

8/25/2018 WFD personnel from the D-platoon were dispatched to the area of W.5st & N. Monroe street for a report of a...

Posted by Wilmington Fire on Saturday, August 25, 2018

Schaal says the man told firefighters he fell in about a mile from where he was rescued and had been lost for at least a day.

"This was a first for me," Schaal told the News Journal. "I've been to plenty of trench rescues but not one in the sewers."

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The man, who wasn't immediately identified, was taken to a hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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