Shocking Moment Man Steps Into Puddle And Vanishes Underwater
This is the shocking moment an old man almost drowns after stepping into a puddle that turned out to be a water-filled trench where he then vanished under water.
The pensioner, identified as Mikhail Kuptsov, 69, thought he was stepping in puddle unaware that a water pipe had burst, and filled the trench with muddy water where it was impossible to see the bottom.
He was only saved because nearby taxi driver Nikita Zubkov, 22, saw what had happened and rushed over to pull Mikhail out of the puddle on Gazovikov street in Tyumen city, Russia, on 26th June.
The video of the incident was shared online by local woman Elena Stanislavskaya who had been filming the scene where a car appeared to have got stuck in the water when the old man suddenly walked into view.
The footage shows the 69-year-old man walking on the sidewalk in front of a residential complex when he is suddenly ‘swallowed’ to the neck by a pit full of dirty water. Nikita rushes to his aid and gets into the pond to help the old man.
Nikita said he was waiting for a customer when he heard cries for help.
He says: “That day I was driving along Gazovikov when I heard the screams of a tenant as if a man was drowning. Then I saw a man really was drowning in the muddy water. People were shouting so I ran over to help.”
After Nikita helped the elderly man out of the flooded pit, he made sure that he (the victim of the incident) was well. The taxi driver added: “He recovered and said that everything seemed to be fine. I saw that nothing critical was happening to him and I left. I didn’t even ask his name.
“Then Tyumen Vodokanal’s specialists and the man’s relatives found me. They’re going to thank me. To be honest, I don’t think I did anything unusual, in my place anyone would do the same.”
According to the press service of the Tyumen water service, repair work was carried out immediately after the leakage was reported and after the water was drained out of the ditch, the leak was repaired.
One of the pensioner’s relatives said that the old man was not doing so well, saying: “He has not been seen by a doctor yet. My father is in shock. He is retired, he will be 70 years old. We are very grateful to the guy who helped our father. What and how it happened and the exact circumstances of the incident are something that we intend to comment about later.”
According to the news website NTV, relatives of the victim intend to attach the film showing the incident in a statement to the police and request legal action against the utility company for failing to warn people of the danger.