A ten year-old girl stepped on a loose piece of plywood on Monday and fell 30 feet to the bottom of a well in Pasadena, Maryland, Fox News reported. She was rescued soon after by the local fire department, able to send one of their members down the three foot wide gap, strap the girl to a harness, and return her to the surface. The process took about 30 minutes.
She was conscious and didn't have life-threatening injuries, but a possible case of hypothermia and other injuries warranted a flight to the nearest hospital, according to Fox.
"In all, 20 personnel operated on the scene, and the victim was removed from the well in 30 minutes," the Fire Department said in a statement. "The patient was examined by fire department paramedics on scene, and transported via Maryland State Police Medevac helicopter to the Johns Hopkins Pediatric Emergency Room in Baltimore, Maryland for further evaluation and treatment."
The full details haven't yet been released, such how the girl was discovered, how deep the water was, among others. According to CBS, the girl lived on the same property as the well.
"It was my neighbor Barbie's daughter," said Joanne Hood told CBS.
Falling three times one's height is considered a traumatic experience, according to a rule followed by fire crews, CBS reported. They were more concerned about the length of the fall than the "entrapment," or the time the girl spent in the well and how she was positioned.
Officials intend to investigate the well and if it was maintained properly.
The fall and her fortunate survival are reminiscent of a national case earlier this year in which an NYU student fell between two buildings and was stuck there for two days (but survived).
