UIHC maintenance contractor rescued after falling 20 feet into underground tunnel

Hunter
03/26/21

A University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics contractor had to be rescued from an underground tunnel system Thursday morning after falling down a maintenance hatch.

According to a release from the Iowa City Fire Department, they got a call just before 10:45am for a report of a person who fell down the maintenance hatch. Responders located the person 30 feet below ground after they had fallen 20 feet from a ladder accessing the maintenance tunnels.

Members of the Fire Department and a Johnson County Ambulance paramedic treated the person in the tunnel while an overhead system was set up to remove the patient from below ground. The patient was removed 43 minutes after firefighters arrived.

The name of the worker and their condition have not been released at this time.