2 workers rescued from bottom of manhole at Georgia Tech

With two construction workers believed to be unconscious underground, rescue crews worked quickly to pull both men to safety Thursday afternoon on the Georgia Tech campus.

The conditions of the two men were not immediately released. But both were moving as they were each pulled up from a manhole and loaded onto stretchers and into waiting ambulances about 15 minutes apart. The two were underground for about 30 minutes, according to Janet Ward, spokeswoman for the Atlanta fire department.

“We got our technical rescue unit here very quickly,” Ward told Channel 2 Action News. “They’re the ones who actually facilitated the rescue.”

The two workers, whose names were not released, were trapped at the bottom of a manhole on the grassy driving range of a golf practice facility on campus, located between 14th and 16th streets, according to the Atlanta fire department.

Crews set up a pulley system and sent firefighters down the manhole to help rescue the men. Cameras captured the dramatic rescues from overhead.

Around 4:30 p.m., one worker had been pulled out and was placed on a stretcher. Rescuers pulled the second person out about 15 minutes later. It was not known how long the two had been underground or how they became trapped.

Both workers appeared to be moving after being pulled out of the manhole. They were transported by ambulance to the hospital for evaluation.