Drugged man who went for walk on beach rescued from tank full of untreated sewage

Firefighters rescued a man who somehow fell into a tank full of untreated sewage on Thursday evening at Seattle's Discovery Park.

The bizarre incident unfolded at around 6:45pm when workers at a sewage treatment facility called 911 to report that a man had fallen into the tank. Crews from Seattle Fire Department had to remove a grate to pull the 23-year-old man from the tank, which contained water and sewage.



After his rescue, he told firefighters he had taken drugs and then he and his girlfriend went for a walk on the beach at Discovery Park. As they were walking, he saw the tank and decided to climb on it, and somehow fell in. He said he did not know what happened to his girlfriend, and he was afraid she also had fallen into the tank. Firefighters searched and found her walking on the beach.

The man said he believed he was in the tank for about five minutes. He was decontaminated by sewage plant workers and again by fire crews. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center to be checked out. He did not appear to be injured, but since there was untreated sewage in the tank he could have been exposed to hepatitis C and other diseases if he has open wounds or if he swallowed.