An eight-year-old boy desperate for a drink tried to get into a neighbour’s home by sliding down the chimney, but got stuck for more than four hours.
West Valley City, Utah, US, police Sgt. Robert Hamilton said the thirsty boy climbed a tree to get onto the home’s roof and then slid down the chimney.
The boy, who lives several blocks away, recently had been in the house for a play date with a grandchild visiting the family who lives there. The family, who had gone out to dinner, returned home to hear a boy crying in the chimney.
“I was haunted by the fact we had this child in our chimney,” said the homeowner, Richard Draper.
Because of the narrowness of the chimney, as well as its twists and turns, rescuers could not pull out the child with a rope, Hamilton said.
They made a hole in a wall to free the boy, who escaped with little more than scrapes and bruises.
“The boy was surprisingly very calm on scene. His only worry was he was still thirsty when we got there,” Hamilton said.
The boy was able to move his arms, so rescuers dropped water to him.
Source: www.ap.org
