Man who repelled 85 feet down Minneapolis storm drain is rescued

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Minneapolis fire crews rescued a man who repelled 85 feet down a storm drain shaft in a fenced-off area early Friday morning.  (Minneapolis Fire Department)

The Minneapolis Fire Department rescued a man who repelled 85 feet down a storm drain shaft and got stuck early Friday.

The fire department responded to 2nd Avenue South and Washington Avenue South at 2:34 a.m. Friday to a report of a man who went down the drain shaft behind a fenced-in area and got stuck, but wasn't hurt. 

Fire crews cut through the fencing, set up a high-point anchor rope rescue system, and scaled down over the edge to rescue the man, the fire department said. 

Crews then reached the victim, and confirmed he wasn't injured. They put the man in a rescue harness and hauled him up, out of the storm drain.

The fire department did not say why the man repelled down the shaft.