Trapped man freed from storm drain after rescuers track phone in California

Rescuers tracked the phone of a man who called for help and found him trapped inside a storm drain in California.

The man called for help Thursday, Jan. 13, after he became stuck inside a “vertical concrete tunnel,” the San Diego Fire Department said.

“He had difficulty explaining where he was so the dispatcher stayed on the line with him and used the emergency SOS location tracker on his cell phone to pinpoint his location,” the fire department said in an Instagram post.

Firefighters went to the location, but couldn’t find the man. He was at the bottom of the concrete tunnel, which made the phone’s signal weak.

“Once the signal became stronger, he was found,” fire officials said. “Firefighters rescued him from a storm drain.”

The man was trapped for over an hour, according to the fire department. He was not injured.

The man’s cell phone likely saved his life, rescuers said.

“Please don’t climb into storm drains or other types of tunnels,” the fire department said. “It’s not safe and had this person not been carrying a cell phone, he might not have been found.”