B.C. man follows phone and glasses into sump pit, gets stuck upside down

OAK BAY, B.C. — A man who became trapped upside down in a Victoria-area storm drain was safely rescued by a police officer and fire crews.

Cam Thomson, assistant chief at the Oak Bay Fire Department, says firefighters were called to a residential area on Thursday.

When they arrived, he says they found the man upside down with his head just above the water level in a small, rectangular sump pit located at the rear of a home.

Thomson says the man had removed the sump pump for service and then accidentally dropped his phone and glasses into the pit.

When he tried to retrieve them, he became wedged between the pump and fill pipe, but he could still reach his phone and called his wife, who subsequently phoned 911.

Thomson says when firefighters arrived, a police constable had already entered the hole and was holding the man’s head above water.

“I understand they were fortunate it was not raining at the time, so the hole wasn’t filling with water,” Thomson said.

Firefighers helped the police officer out, then hoisted the man out by his feet, he said.

He had no injuries and was not taken to hospital.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 24, 2020.

The Canadian Press