RAYMORE, Mo. --
A worker who was swept away in a manhole in Raymore was found alive after an extensive and intense search on Tuesday morning.
Emergency crews said the man, described as being in his 30s, was found near the 15th green at the Creekmoor Golf Course, which is about a mile away from where he entered the sewer system in the 600 block of West Foxwood Drive. Authorities told KMBC's Kerri Stowell that the worker was in a 27-inch sanitary sewer line, and was able to stop himself in the trap just before the line went under the lake at the golf course.
Authorities described the man's condition as "code red," which means serious. The man was taken by air ambulance to a hospital. But workers at Rosetta Construction in Springfield, where the man is employed, said he is in good condition.
The incident started about 8:15 a.m., when the worker was lowered down into the sewer on Foxwood Drive. Raymore Police Chief Kris Turnbow said the man was apparently tethered to a line, when somehow the line separated and the man was swept away in the water.
"Apparently, he was swept downstream after entering the sewer system to check and see if nearby construction had had any effect on the system, and was caught in the current and was swept downstream," Turnbow said.
Turnbow said the worker's flashlight had been recovered about 25 yards from the entrance. He said the man had been working for the city on a contract from the Springfield construction company to reinforce pipes when the accident happened.
The police chief said the flow of the sewer was "heavy" at the time the man entered the system. It had been raining earlier Tuesday morning.
Authorities are investigating. However, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration told KMBC that Rosetta Construction has no violations on record. The company was last inspected in September.
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