A man was rescued alive this Tuesday in Manzanillo, Granma province, after accidentally falling into the vent of a well that was between 12 and 15 meters deep in an area of dense underbrush, according to the official Facebook profile Entérate con Aytana Alama.
The incident occurred around 7:40 in the morning near the Céspedes neighborhood, behind the Provincial Hospital "Celia Sánchez Manduley," on 3rd Avenue, about 500 meters from the healthcare facility.
The victim was walking with another person through a densely vegetated area that was difficult to access when the ground gave way beneath them.
According to the publication, “unexpectedly, he gave way and fell into the interior of the vent of a pit, to a terrifying depth of between 12 and 15 meters.”
The companion immediately went to ask for help from neighbors in the Céspedes neighborhood, who called the fire emergency service and reported that the man was alive at the bottom of the well.
The rescue
Upon arriving at the location, the rescuers assessed the scene and prepared the vertical descent systems.
In the background, they found the man conscious but in critical condition: he had a head trauma with bleeding and total loss of sensitivity and movement in the lower limbs, a condition that the rescuers themselves confirmed through stimulus tests.
In response to the suspicion of a serious spinal injury, the firefighters immobilized the victim on a stretcher and monitored their vital signs while requesting the presence of the SIUM (Integrated Medical Emergency System).
With the support of the Red Cross, the lifting maneuver was carried out to extract him from a depth of 15 meters.
Once on the surface, the officers carried the stretcher by hand for about 300 meters through bushes and unpaved terrain until they reached a patrol car of the National Revolutionary Police (PNR).
Due to the lack of roads preventing access for heavy vehicles, the officers transported the injured person in the patrol car to the hospital, where he received specialized medical care.
The source did not provide information about the patient's subsequent health status nor revealed their identity.
Divided reactions
The post generated mixed comments. Some users praised the performance of the rescue teams. "Congratulations to my colleagues. Once again, they demonstrated their professionalism and courage," wrote one user.
Others questioned the tone of the official narrative. "Great story. I read it to the end, and throughout the narrative, the protagonist was never the person who was injured, but the members of the MININT. Wishing a quick recovery for that individual," another commenter pointed out.
There were also criticisms regarding the infrastructure conditions that led to the accident. “This once again demonstrates the poor work being done in construction. How can they leave a hole that big and that deep? If that man fell, a child could also fall in,” noted Esmeralda Castro.
Another comment was more direct: "They save one life and let thousands be lost in hospitals and in prisons. What's the point of all the fuss about saving one?" questioned another internet user.
A recurring pattern
At the end of August, rescue workers in Holguín saved another man who fell to the bottom of a well during excavation work in Loma del Caguayo.
Weeks earlier, a woman fell into an uncovered well in Bayamo, also in Granma, and had to be taken to the hospital on an electric motorcycle due to the lack of an ambulance — at that time, the province had only 17 active ambulances out of the 54 needed.
The proliferation of artisanal wells in the face of the water crisis and the deterioration of urban infrastructure creates a scenario of increasing risk for the Cuban population, with incidents occurring at a frequency that the authorities have been unable to reverse.
Related videos:
Filed under: