Man Rescued from Pinole Drainage Pipe

Best Buy was a busy place all weekend, but not just because of Black Friday shoppers. 

A Richmond man fell asleep in a drainage pipe next to the store on Friday and became lodged there, requiring a four-hour rescue by the Pinole Fire Department and several other agencies.

Around 8 p.m. Friday, a security guard at the store heard the faint noise of a man yelling for help, KGO-TV reported. At first it was hard to tell where the noise was coming from, but eventually people outside were able to trace it to the pipe.

According to KGO, the pipe is just 14 inches wide and is slanted at a 50-degree angle, and while sleeping, the man, 27, slipped far down, wedging himself in dirt and piping. 

Initial attempts to rescue the man were unsuccessful, so crews had to excavate the pipe, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. He was finally taken from the pipe just after midnight.  

"The rescued man told fire crews that he was transient and had entered the catch basin to stay warm in the past," The Chronicle reported. "The man was not able to say why he went into the narrow drainpipe or how long he had been trapped before he was found."

Check out KGO-TV's video from the scene of the rescue above.