German firefighters had to dig up part of a housing estate to rescue a toddler who became trapped in a narrow underground pipe for three hours.
Two-year-old Valentin reportedly plunged three meters down a rainwater drainage pipe on Thursday evening while he played on the estate in Pirna-Sonnenstein in Saxony, local outlet MDR reported.
According to police, the plastic cover over the pipe’s opening was not secured properly, which gave way as the little boy ran across it, which resulted in him falling down the pipe and becoming stuck.
Footage shows an excavator at the site of the incident while rescuers dig a massive hole in the ground to get to the pipe, which police said was only 30 centimeters wide.
The dramatic moment the two-year-old was freed by rescuers was also captured, with the child shown being pulled out and freed from the constraints of the tube by an emergency worker.
Rescue teams had been called to the scene of the incident, but when firefighters arrived they quickly realized that the pipe’s opening was too narrow for adults to squeeze through in order to get Valentin out.
A spokesperson for the Pirna fire department said: ‘It was impossible to reach him from above, no adult was that slim’.
As a result, the fire crew were forced to dig up part of the estate to access the pipe and free the young boy.
A child in Germany got stuck in a narrow pipe for nearly three hours
Rescue teams were forced to excavate part of a building estate in order to get to the trapped toddler
The child reportedly suffered from hypothermia
Two different construction companies had to be called , while two trees were uprooted during the process.
According to MDR, the frightened toddler’s mother sang songs to him to keep him calm as emergency services and excavators worked around the pipe.
Warm air was also blown into the shaft as temperatures began to drop while the night fell, Radio Dresden said.
Firefighters also had to erect a tent over the pipe in order to keep snow away from the trapped toddler..
Rescuers finally managed to reach the little boy, who was eventually secured with a rope and pulled up.
He was reunited with his mother and was taken to hospital as he had begun suffering from hypothermia.
Police are investigating the incident further.
The near tragedy was eerily reminiscent of the rescue of Jessica McClure, known as ‘Baby Jessica,’ which garnered worldwide attention after the 18-month-old became trapped in a 22-foot well in Midland, Texas in 1987.
When rescuers finally brought her to the surface, she was covered with dirt and bruises, and her right palm was stuck to her face.
