Video: Elderly man falls into open manhole and drowns in Zuid-Holland town
An 84-year-old man fell into an open manhole in ‘s-Gravenzande on Thursday evening and drowned. The manhole is in the parking garage of an apartment building on Vreeburghlaan, a police spokesperson confirmed to RTL Nieuws.
Emergency services were first dispatched to the scene at 6:40 p.m. An ambulance was first dispatched, shortly followed by a trauma team by helicopter. Police officers, firefighters, and more medical workers were sent within ten minutes.
Emergency services tried to resuscitate the man, but it was to no avail. “We assume it was a fatal accident,” the police spokesperson said.
It is unclear why the manhole was open or how the man ended up in it.
Regional media reported that it was a drainage channel that was open at the bottom of the ramp to the parking garage. The man reportedly lived in the apartment building.
The police could not confirm this to the broadcaster.
