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A MAN WHO was trapped 15 feet underground for two days in a storm pipe the width of a large pizza was rescued in an effort that lasted hours and involved at least 50 firefighters, police officers and rescue personnel.
Officials freed the man from the 16-inch diameter pipe at about 9.30pm on Sunday in Antioch, north-east of San Francisco, said Contra Costa County Fire Protection District spokesperson Steve Hill.
“When we finally got him out of the ground, he was beyond exuberant. He was beyond happy to be above ground,” Hill said.
The man, in his mid-30s, was not injured but showed signs of dehydration and was taken to a hospital to be evaluated, Hill said.
Hill said the man entered the extensive storm water system intentionally and at one point reached the area of the narrow pipe and became stuck.
“He couldn’t get through and he couldn’t go back,” he said.
The man told officials he had been trapped for about two days before passers-by heard his screams and called 911.
“Somehow, people passing by on a walking path some distance away from the stormwater system managed to hear his cries for help. That’s fairly miraculous because it was pretty windy out there,” Hill said.
Hill said the high-risk rescue operation involved four firefighters with their own air supply entering the underground space from one direction while other rescuers dug a second access from the opposite side.
They had to clear tree branches, garbage and other debris to reach the man, who was able to communicate with authorities the entire time.
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My partner and I are planning on buying in the Dublin area this year, and for the past few months we have being watching the prices on sites such as Daft and on a daily basis. It seems to me either people out there are valuing their properties themselves or there are some over ambitious real-estate agents out there. Some properties are so over valued compared to neighbouring properties that it’s laughable, other properties have €10,000 price raises on a monthly basis (exaggeration in some cases reality in others) which have been up for sale for over a year or more and have not been sold. I get the feeling the greed is still there and it’s like the ashes of the bubble are starting to glow again.
We also viewed a few properties months ago to be told at the viewing by the agent the there were already offers on the houses over the asking price, but yet the houses are still for sale now with no sale agreed or under offer on the ads which are now over 6 months old…
Look outside Dublin in the commuter belt towns served by motorways. You would be crazy to buy in Dublin. You would only be leaving yourself with a life of hardship and debt, stress and all sorts. Believe me I know wat I’m talking about
Estate agents up to their old tricks Brendan.
Want a new large 2 bed apartment on the Luas? Tallaght. €105,000 on average.
The only place you will get value now is outside Dublin, a balance between quality of life and value is south bound, the M11 project will be finished relatively soon and it’ll be 40 mins to Dublin from Gorey. I have a Slovakian friend who put a deposit down on a lovely 3 bed semi for less than 130k just recently. Currently its 1 hr to sandyford, it’ll be 40 mins when M11 finished.
I can leave my house in navan and be driving along the quays in 30 to 40 minutes. A town with over 30 thousand population which has everything in it you might aswell be in Dublin. You can buy a mansion out here for 2 hundred thousand.
How far is the beach Kyle?
20 mins, but I can see where your coming from alright ;)
I’ve been looking for a number of months and have finally made the jump. A few things I realised – the prices on daft are very low compared to what they are selling for. I was looking for a house at around 250k which sold for 285k +.
It takes ages for houses to go on the property price register, 3 months at least. Some houses that I was interested in at the start of the year are still not up.
Houses that are in good location at a good price are snapped up really fast. You would need to be on the ball and bid high to get some of them.
I have bought a new build and am waiting to move in and the house prices have already gone up 10k. Its crazy in Dublin.
There are not many people buying but the stock of good quality and new build houses is so low that prices on those houses are flying up.
If you leave at 6 in the morning probably Kyle!
It’s not just greed, a lot of people simply cannot afford to sell lower than that. Many people have crippling mortgages to pay off you know.
Flats are 53% lower than in 2007, but flats in 2007 were 253% over priced. I hope the arse falls out of this property market, quick and fast and never recover to crazy price levels.
No need to worry about a housing bubble Noonan has said all is ok!
It seems to be a Dublin bubble
It always was a Dublin bubble, except the Dublin bubble stretched to other counties as people couldn’t afford to live in Dublin.
I live in cork house prices doubled in the boom here. Long cumute to Dublin from here ;)
Well Cork always followed Dublins lead :P
Extreme Bubble! But no one cares because it means the middle class get richer on paper while young people get even more screwed
Remember last Sundays article on here,Dave ?
This is why cash buyers dominate the market, as they can use their capital to immediately exploit the benefit of the reduced asset price. They don’t need to use financing that has ever-increasing costs, and that needs to be serviced with ever-declining take home pay. Unfortunately, if left unchecked this will lead to an ongoing concentration of wealth into the hands of those who already have capital, with ordinary workers who are relying on their wages priced out of the housing market. This will lead to greater inequality long term. Whether consciously or not this is the direction of Government policy.
And the Sinn Fein brigade will still tell you that there are no positive indicators for OUR economy.
From a stabilising property market, to higher employment to leaps in car sales,foreign investment & tax receipts this economy has well and truly turned the corner thanks in the main to those who take the risks and create the jobs and wealth.
This is the exact group that Sinn Fein want to tax into oblivion.
They can’t fool all of the people all of the time
Higher property prices doesn’t mean our property market is stable.
Ok James, lets delve a little deeper into your good news story:
From a stabilising property market: Severe shortage of properties, rising rents, rising prices, rising interest rates. How does this constitute “stabilising”?
higher employment: This is debateable. Government figures are skewed by emigration and jobbridge.
leaps in car sales: Sales are up by 12481 for the first 5 months of the year from a very low base, there were 87,000 private cars sold in 2011, sales for 2013 will be less.
foreign investment: Don’t you mean foreign investment announcements? The number of jobs created by FDI will not solve our problems; the domestic economy is fatally wounded by 7 years of austerity and it may never recover.
tax receipts: Obviously if you increase taxation you increase tax receipts.
All points to a very weak economy that’s not getting better.
A stable property market is on where builders can confidently supply stock that a market requires, and in turn the banks will lend knowing there is demand for the asset. That’s the big change in recent times and allows the construction industry rise from the ashes and address the supply side creating a stable and sustainable market.
This is of course bad news for Sin Fein
Straight from the Sinn Fein memo Ciaran
Are you in denial that our economy is not improving or are all the leading economic indicators simply one large conspiracy involving several national and European agencies ?
Ciaran Simn Fein can’t fool all of the people all of the time, and folk should know that SF intend to tax into oblivion the job creators and wealth creators in this country until they realise there is nothing for anybody
Sinn Fein ,Sinn Fein ,Sinn Fein ,Sinn Fein ,Sinn Fein,Sinn Fein ,Sinn Fein ,blah,blah,blah
A story about property price increases becomes another commenter’s chance to bash Sinn Féin. Yaaaaaawn.
Let me guess James, now I’m just gonna go out on a limb here, but here goes: You’re a blueshirt. Am I right or am I right?!!!
He used to be confused young man ,but, he is now a true blue!
*a
It’s a white shirt today Roland.
I, like you I assume, am keen that my kids have a hopeful economic future and I see the nonsense that is Sinn Fein economic policy preventing that and ensuring we simply all suffer equally. I respect that others may see it differently and see no need to call them terrorists or murderers or whatever.
And you want the parties that destroyed the economy of this country for decades to come to deliver this “hopeful economic future?” Ok then!!!!!
Does daft not have a blog for putting up this type of blather? Honestly the madia needs to be reigned in on this and stop contributing to property bubble 2.0
So do the people…..I can’t believe people didn’t learn the last time….
I’d like to buy an apartment… Nah I changed my mind. I don’t want to be a slave of any bank.
Here bubble, bubble, bubble!
3 derelict building sites were back up and running this morning!
Good news.
Bad news
Sh!t news.
Indifferent news.
I smile when I read the estate agent hype that there is ‘a housing shortage’ in Dublin.
There is no hosing shortage, it is simply that there is no availability at the price buyers *are expecting* to pay.
So you have a number of choices if it is over your budget:
–Hold off and don’t buy now
–Look outside traffic-light-land and get the house you want and a better environment for your children (Believe me you will survive without having Dundrum Shopping Centre on your doorstep).
–Pay the price and live in penury for 10 years so you can be near the Luas and walk to Ranelagh for cappuccinos.
Political fanboys , you guys give me the best laughs, I admire the passion you have for your beloved parties
It really doesn’t matter. We are all still in negative equity and we will never get the money we paid back.
You’re only in negative equity if you want to sell… Why sell? If you got a tracker just rent the place out and your laughing…
When the bank finds out and shafts you by removing your tracker and sticking you on commercial rates…that smile will dissappear. ..
How long till we see the next bubble burst ,I cannot understand why Even in Dublin that property prices have risen as fast as they have ,I thought that anew lending criteria was in place meaning morgtages were based on income
But maybe I’m wrong .
have your say