Worker sucked down manhole in Lawrence 4 Gallery: Worker sucked down manhole in Lawrence

LAWRENCE – Emergency personnel are trying to locate a worker who was sucked down into a drain pipe this afternoon while helping clear water from a flooded business on Bakers Basin Road.

Police said the man was outdoors clearing the property along with other workers at Shemin, a landscaping and nursery company. They opened a manhole cover and he was sucked in, police said. The incident was reported at about 2:30 p.m.

The pipe may be part of the Ewing-Lawrence Sewage Authority, but officials are also checking if it is a storm drain that feeds into a canal, police Capt. Mark Boyd said.

“When somebody’s life is on the line, you’re going to check on that,” Boyd said.

Video equipment is being to search the pipe. Police said they did not know if the man, who has not been identified, might have found an air pocket.

Police declined to comment on whether the man is a Shemin employee or subcontractor. The business is located at 209 Baker Basin Road, near Route 1 in Lawrence. The area has experienced heavy flooding resulting from Hurricane Irene.

Follow the Times of Trenton on Twitter.