A Scranton man who fell into the freezing Lackawanna River early Thursday ended up lost in the sewers and needed to be rescued, authorities said.
Walter Anderson, 32, was fished out of the sewers by the Scranton Fire Department about 2 a.m. after crews cut open a sewer basin in front of 108 E. Elm St.
The air temperature hovered around 10 degrees and firefighters had no idea how long he had been stuck there, Deputy Fire Chief Al Lucas said. Uninjured, he said he was “extremely cold.”
Police Capt. Dennis Lukasewicz said Anderson slipped on ice while walking along the river near Idle Hours South, 135 Beech St., and fell into the water.
That took him to a 6-by-6-foot storm drain. He wandered in and eventually became lost.
Finally, he managed to get to a sewer basin about 1,000 feet south of where he fell in.
A passerby noticed him and alerted the authorities. Rescue 1 arrived at 1:46 a.m. and got to work getting Anderson out.
Rescue workers passed him blankets and hot packs through the sewer grate, according to the Fire Department.
Unable to pry the cover up, firefighters used a gas-powered rotary saw and a Sawzall to cut through the grate and pull him out.
It took about 25 minutes to rescue him.
Anderson was rushed to Geisinger Community Medical Center. He had been treated and released by Friday, hospital spokeswoman Alysha Davis said.
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