Man Sucked Into Pipe At Sewage Treatment Plant

Rescuers saved a man who got sucked into a sewer pipe at a University Place sewage treatment plant and was carried nearly three-quarters of a mile downstream Monday morning.

The man was working about 150 feet below ground at the Chambers Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant at about 8 a.m. when he came loose from his safety harness. A surge of water pushed him through a 6-foot-wide sewer pipe.

He got caught up in a grate, but co-workers and firefighters pulled him up, the Tacoma News Tribune reported.

Pierce County Public Works and Utilities Worker rescued at sewage plant 3-21-11

Pierce County Public Works and Utilities put a video of the rescue on its Facebook page.

He was conscious during the rescue, and appeared to have only minor injuries, the News Tribune reported. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation.