Crews rescue 3-year-old boy who fell into septic pipe

Rescue crews pulled a 3-year-old boy who fell into a septic pipe outside a Pennsylvania sanitation business on Tuesday, officials said.

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Dave March, a spokesperson for the West Chester Fire Department, said that the boy was outside playing with other children in the West Goshen Township at about 5:20 p.m. ET when he fell into the pipe, WCAU reported.

“The kids were outside playing when the child fell into the pipe,” March told reporters. “His brother, who witnessed the incident, ran and told his mother, who called 911.”

March said the boy fell into an access pipe to the septic tank, which measured 12 to 14 inches wide, WPVI reported.

The child was lodged about four to five feet deep into the pipe and was partially stuck in sewage, March said. He was holding onto a rope until emergency crews arrived, according to the television station.

“He was crying. He was scared, but he was alert,” March told reporters. “Didn’t appear to have major injuries or any injuries at all.”

Authorities said the boy was taken to a local hospital as a precaution, according to WPVI.

The boy was caught in the pipe for approximately 25 minutes, WCAU reported. He was at the site because he lives with his family at the site, officials told the television station.

“It was a coordinated effort,” Lt. Michael Cotter of the West Goshen Police Department told WPVI. “Everyone went in. Everyone knew what job they had to do. And they were able to do this and get it done very quickly to get this young child out.”