By Helena Wegner
The Charlotte Observer
MARYSVILLE, Wash. — A 12-year-old boy plunged 20 feet into a well when a concrete lid he was standing on at recess crumbled, Washington fire officials said.
The child was playing at a church when he fell into the well at about 12:20 p.m. Tuesday, May 30, the Marysville Fire District said in a Facebook post.
The boy clung to piping to stay afloat in the water because he couldn’t reach the bottom of the well with his feet, fire officials said.
Before reaching the child, rescuers had to remove the rest of the well’s concrete lid covering, which was connected to chains, officials said.
Firefighters then lowered a ladder into the well, and the child climbed up it.
The boy had some cuts on his head, but he was able to follow directions from firefighters and put on a helmet, life vest and harness during the rescue, officials said.
He was taken to a hospital in stable condition and is “expected to be OK,” firefighters said.
Marysville is about 35 miles north of Seattle and about an hour south of Bellingham.
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