Man rescued from manhole after claiming he was trapped for 9 days

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The 40-year-old man trapped at the bottom of a manhole for nine days said he was walking home from work on his way to his father's home. Jason Courtney said he cut across a grassy area under the beltway and fell into the exposed hole.

Courtney said for days he screamed out for help. He couldn't move because he broke his ankle. His cell phone was washed away by the water. He said it's only by the grace of God that he survived the ordeal.

"I did not want to die laying in a bunch of sewage water," said Courtney. "Like I've been telling everybody, the power of faith and believing in God is a force not to be reckoned with."



Courtney said he survived by eating ants and even a snake at one point.

"I want to thank the people that found me," said Courtney. "I very seriously strongly believe that they need to start putting ladders or something down the manholes. They need to weekly check all the covers."

Courtney is recovering in the Texas Medical Center. He underwent surgery earlier Monday morning.

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