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Apr 21, 2008 5:31 pm US/Central
Manhole Blows, Sends Man Flying
BALTIMORE, Md. (CBS) ―
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A manhole cover blew off and sent a man flying into the air in Northeast Baltimore.
A man standing on a street corner waiting for a bus was shocked to feel the ground move beneath his feet.
He was standing on a manhole cover. Unfortunately, the cover didn't stay where it was supposed to.
"There was suddenly a loud boom noise. This gentleman went flying into the air," said Kevin Cartwright with the Baltimore City Fire Department.
The 18-year-old man flew about 10 feet into the air and struck a sign, Cartwright said. He suffered a head and elbow injury and is in stable condition at an area hospital.
The gas Baltimore Gas and Electric company had been having problems with an electric cable during storms on Sunday, which might have contributed to the accident. The company is investigating.
"It was not gas related. It appears that an underground electric cable switch that failed is what caused the manhole cover to come off," said Linda Foy with BGE Communications.
"It's hollow under this manhole cover. The switch that failed -- it actually blew up -- and all that air under here, it had to go somewhere, and it went up," said one worker.
BGE didn't have statistics, but said this type of occurrence is rare.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
