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12-year-old boy partially underwater, clinging to pipe, rescued from well in Marysville

MARYSVILLE, Wash. — A boy was lucky to escape with only cuts to his head after he fell down a well in Marysville Tuesday afternoon.

At about 12:20 p.m., a crew from the Marysville Fire District was called to St. Mary’s Catholic Church at 4200 88th Street.

The 12-year-old victim reported he had been standing on the well’s concrete lid during recess when the concrete started to collapse, causing him to plummet into the hole. The well is next to a pumphouse in a field behind the church.

Firefighters arrived and found the boy partly underwater and unable to touch the bottom. He was holding onto a plastic pipe about 20 feet down the well.

Though he had a few cuts on his head, the boy was awake and able to follow the firefighters’ instructions. A helmet and life vest were lowered down for him to wear during the rescue, while firefighters monitored the air quality inside the well.

To get the boy out, firefighters first had to carefully remove the rest of the crumbling concrete well cover, which was connected to chains at the top of the well.

They also created a rope system to pull the boy out, but ended up not needing it. Once the remaining concrete from the cover was removed, firefighters were able to put a ladder down the well, and the boy climbed out on his own.

The child was taken to Providence Regional Medical Center to be evaluated but was expected to be okay.

Marysville Police, Everett Fire, and Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue also responded.