EMS workers, deputies and others helped pull the boy to safety about 7 p.m. Lt. Jim Ridgeway of the Greenville County Sheriff’s office said the boy fell into the well under a porch behind a vacant house.
The GCSO reported the boy was airlifted to Greenville Memorial Hospital with a fractured arm and hypothermia and was listed in good condition. The boy was trapped in the cold well for nearly two hours and standing in water up to his shoulders.
Lt. Tim Ridgeway said the boy fell into the well that was under a porch behind a vacant house.
A firefighter was lowered into the well within one hour of the boy falling into the well, approximately three feet wide. The firefighter’s legs became numb, after twice pausing for longer ropes to be applied, and a second firefighter was lowered into the well where he successfully rescued the boy.
Ridgeway said the boy remained conscious throughout the ordeal. The boy was alert and talking to rescuers after he was rescued, Ridgeway said.
Ridgeway said a board covering the well collapsed and the boy might have rode the board down as he fell so that might have cushioned it a little bit or just slowed him somewhat.
“When the rescuer got to him, he could see that he was in water up to his shoulders, in a lot of pain, of course, cold and wet. He was alert, talking to us, a very strong young man. If an adult had done that it probably would have killed him. (The boy) kept himself going. It's amazing he was alert to talk to us the whole time and remarkable he lived through it."
Greenville County EMS, Lake Cunningham Fire Department responded to the accident and Med Trans airlifted the boy to the hospital.
Ridgeway said the owner of the home followed the law by covering the well and said the Sheriff’s Office did not plan to file charges against the boys.