Watch CBS News

Firefighters Pull Worker From Ted Williams Tunnel Hole

BOSTON (CBS) - The Boston Fire Department's Confined Rescue Team was in action again early Friday morning.

They saved a man who fell into a hole inside the Ted Williams Tunnel.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports

Podcast

The 53-year-old Department of Transportation maintenance worker was checking out a sump pump down a hole in the tunnel around 1 a.m.

Tunnel Hole Rescue
The hole where the man was trapped. (Photo courtesy: Boston Fire Dept.)

He was going down an aluminum extension ladder when the ladder gave way about half-way down. He slipped off and fell about ten feet.

He hit his head and hurt his left leg in the fall.

Watch Carl's Video

Firefighters trained in confined rescue responded and it took them about an hour to get him out of there.

View: Rescue Photos

Complicating matters, at the bottom there was about a foot of sludge and air quality issues and firefighters had to give the man oxygen.

The opening to the hole is about three feet by three feet and it's twenty feet deep.

WBZ-TV's Sera Congi reports

The unidentified man was strapped to a board by firefighters and was pulled out.

He and his rescuers were decontaminated.

The man was then airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital. He has since been released with a reported mild concussion, and no broken bones.

This incident comes a week after an MBTA worker was rescued from a shaft on the Red Line.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.