FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) -- Fayetteville police and firefighters were called out to a man reportedly trapped in a sewer early Wednesday.
Fayetteville firefighters received a 911 call about 8:15 a.m. from Keith Berner, who was walking his dog with his wife and kids around Fifth Street and Block Avenue in downtown Fayetteville.
Berner said they heard banging and noticed the manhole cover was open. Berner told firefighters they looked into the sewer and saw a man, who started screaming and cursing at him.
Berner said he backed up and called 911. The man said he was too weak to get out of the sewer by himself. When emergency personnel arrived, it took about half an hour to get the man out, Berner said.
"They figured out he was about halfway up the block," Berner said. "One of the firefighters crawled down. I think they put a tarp down and pulled him out with the tarp."
The man was seen walking away with firefighters and appeared to be OK. Neither firefighters nor police said why or how the man was in the sewer.
Firefighters reported on Twitter that the man was safely extricated about 8:45 a.m.