Rescuers were forced to unearth and break into a concrete pipe to rescue the unidentified man.

"He said, 'Praise God. Thank you," Brian Williams said after prying the man out. "He was just very happy at that point," Williams told WKRN.

Emergency workers say the victim was lucky the weather was dry. “He was in a storm drain, so it could have ended very badly for him,” Williams noted.

“I think he had a guardian angel overlooking him.”

Williams told 2News, he was at a swim meet when he heard the man call out. “He was yelling, ‘Help! Help!’ sort of repeatedly.”

Williams said they quickly found the man, but "he was back in the pipeline a good ways, probably about 10 feet."

The victim was taken to a hospital with dehydration and cuts to his body.

More here.

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UPS trucks exit the company's SMART hub in Atlanta on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. It's considered the country's second-largest ground package processing facility. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com