A 14-month-old boy was rescued from inside a PVC pipe after becoming trapped underground in Moundridge, Kansas.
The entire family was outside on Sunday afternoon while the child’s father was working on his car and his wife was walking around the yard with their 14-month-old son, Bentley.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Rescuers pluck toddler from deep PVC pipe.
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That’s when she saw him fall into a PVC pipe more than 10 feet (3.05m) into the ground.
“It’s horrifying. It’s haunting to feel so helpless knowing that your child is in serious need of help,” the boy’s father, Blake said.
The Moundridge Police Department, Fire Department and paramedics responded.
They found a pipe approximately 12 inches (30.48 cm) in diameter and 10 to 12 feet (3.66 m) deep.
The toddler was upright in the bottom of the pipe.
“Looking down at him as he was screaming, he wanted out of there, he wanted help, and you can’t do anything. It’s just completely helplessness,” Blake said.
The rescuers quickly began working to free the child.
The police department said it wanted to highlight the efforts of Officer Ronnie Wagner for creating a catch pole out of a thinner PVC pipe and rope.
Wagner, a veteran, has only been with the department for a month.
He asked one of the paramedics, Jeremy Samland, who lived nearby to bring a narrow PVC pipe from his garage.
The two crafted a 16-foot (4.87 m) PVC rod and then funnelled fire department rope through it.
“This isn’t a normal situation to respond to; now we’re trying to adapt on the fly, and the resources and the ability to do that is very impressive to have,” Samland said.
Wagner tied a circle lasso at the end of the rod.
“Basically, I threaded some rope through some PVC pipe, tied a knot at the end of it so that it would slip,” he said.
Rescuers lowered the rod and rope over the boy and lifted him to safety within approximately 20 minutes.
“We used it to wrap around the child, basically right under his shoulders and lift him out of the hole,” said Wagner.
“If none of our efforts worked at that time, we would’ve had to start digging, bring in some equipment and start digging a really big hole in the front yard and dig him out, which would’ve been time-consuming,” Wagner said.
The child was unharmed. His parents were elated that he is OK.
The family is unsure what the pipe is for. They’re just thankful for the quick-thinking team of first responders that saved their son.
“It’s a blessing and a miracle to have a first responder that lives right behind us. There aren’t words to express our gratitude toward the city,” Blake said.