By Noah Feit
The Sun News
ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — There was a recent rescue mission in South Carolina to aid a woman who was stuck in a well where multiple snakes lived, according to the Orangeburg County Fire District.
On Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., members of the fire district responded to reports of a person trapped in a 16-foot deep well, officials said in a news release. Information about the location of the well was not available.
At the scene, the first responders confirmed there was a woman in the well and rescue crews conducted atmospheric monitoring while ventilating the well with fresh air, according to the release.
Information about how the woman got stuck at the bottom of the watery well was not available.
Using a tripod and rope rigging, a rescuer was carefully lowered into the well to secure the victim and raise her to safety, fire district officials said. Once removed, the woman was decontaminated and transferred to EMS, according to the release.
Further information on the victim’s condition, and if she needed to be treated at a hospital, was not available.
No other injuries were reported.
There was no word about how long it took to extract the woman from the well, but what officials called a “smooth rescue” was the product of teamwork from members of multiple emergency agencies.
Along with the Orangeburg County Fire District, members of the Pine Hill and North Fire Departments, Orangeburg County EMS, County of Orangeburg Emergency Services, Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Orangeburg Department of Public Safety and Meducare Air also responded to the scene, according to the release.
Information about the number and type of snakes seen in the well was not available. The fire district shared a photo of two snakes that were removed from the well.
Those two “slithery serpents tried to assist in the rescue but did not have the proper training so we had to escort them away,” the fire district said.
There was no word if the well was covered, or if any other safety precautions were placed in the area to prevent anyone else from getting trapped more than five yards underground.
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