MINNEAPOLIS - An 18-year-old man escaped serious injury Friday after falling about seven stories down an abandoned grain elevator on the city's North Side.
"There's no explaining why the person wasn't killed when he fell," said Minneapolis Fire Deputy Chief Scott Craigie.
It took rescuers nearly three hours to figure out how to get the man out. They eventually lowered a basket down the silo and brought him out.
The man was with two companions at the top of the elevator when he fell in just after 2 a.m. Friday.
Craigie said it wasn't clear if the hole the teen fell through was due to damage or was a normal hatch.
Remarkably, the teen didn't even appear to be severely hurt. "He was responsive and our assessment was that he didn't suffer any broken bones," said Craigie.
Investigators said criminal charges might be filed against him or other people who were with him. The charges could range from trespassing, a misdemeanor, to burglary, a felony, police spokesman Ron Reier said.
"The fact is this building is posted and they did not belong here," he said. "This was trespassing, entering a building that is not very safe. There's quite likely going to be charges. This is not very safe."
Grain still sitting in the bottom of the elevator "is probably what saved this person's life," Reier said.
Neighbors said the area was a popular teen hangout. There was graffiti even at the top of the silo and many old beer cans were visible.
