16-Year-Old Boy Rescued After Falling Into Abandoned Well At Jersey City Reservoir
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A trapped teen was rescued by fire crews Tuesday night after falling down a 30-foot hole in Jersey City.
The 16-year-old boy had a bloody nose, and was shivering under a blanket as a Jersey City firefighter led him to an ambulance.
As CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported, he was rescued from an old, abandoned pump house at the Jersey City Reservoir.
The teen was with two other friends when he fell through plywood covering a pump shaft, dropping some 30 feet before landing in the water at the bottom.
"Nobody's been in here for years so over the years the water and rain, it's gotten rotted so I guess when he went through the window and stepped on the platform he went straight through," said Jersey City Fire Department Chief Henry Diguilio.
The boy held onto a pipe and tread water until being rescued about an hour later.
"He was treading water at that time. He did have a small pipe down there to hold onto to stabilize himself," Diguilio said.
A firefighter was lowered into the hole and took about an hour to rescue the teen. The abandoned building is difficult to work in.
"A lot of this building is pretty unstable, that's why it's bricked and boarded up. There hasn't been access to this building for years," Diguilio said.
Residents said the dangerous building is a popular hangout for teens.
"A lot of kids go back there," a neighbor said, "They do what kids do. Maybe this incident might inspire them to get it cleaned up."
The teen was taken to Jersey City Medical Center with minor injuries.
