A 12-year-old boy is now safe after falling into a well during his school's recess, the Marysville Fire District in Washington said.
In a Facebook post, the fire department said the boy was standing on a well's concrete lid when the concrete partially collapsed, sending him about 20 feet down into the hole. He held onto a plastic pipe as he became partially submerged in water, unable to touch the bottom of the well.
The fire district responded to a 911 call about the incident just after 12:20 pm on Tuesday and arrived to find the boy conscious in the well, though he had a couple of lacerations on his head.
Crews lowered a helmet, life vest and harness for him to wear while they worked to get him back above ground, even constructing a rope system to possibly pull him up. They also carefully worked to remove the rest of the crumbling lid, which was connected to chains at the top of the well.
Once the lid was fully removed, firefighters finally were able to lower a ladder for the boy to climb out on. He was then taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation while in stable condition, and he's expected to be okay.
"Thanks to all involved in this rescue and this very brave boy for hanging in there through it all," the Marysville Fire District said.
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