VIDEO: ATCEMS rescues person trapped 55 feet inside Austin storm drain

Emergency crews with Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services rescued a person trapped 55 feet inside an underground storm drain pipe on May 21.

According to ATCEMS, medics and members of the Austin Fire Department responded to reports shortly after 7 p.m. of a person who was “stuck in a horizontal waterway” at the intersection of East 12th Street and Curve Street.

Rescuers found the person, who was described only as an adult, stuck at least 55 feet inside the storm drainage system. Ropes and pulleys were used by rescue crews to retrieve the person from the drain, ATCEMS said.

The person was taken to Dell Seton Medical Center in downtown Austin with serious, “potentially life-threatening medical complaints.”