Firefighters rescued a man on Tuesday who survived for days after the hinges of a vault cover were apparently tampered with and he wound up 10 feet underground in St. Paul. The man was conscious and alert, said he’d been there for three to four days and he couldn’t get out on his own, Deputy Fire Chief Jamie Smith said.

The man was found conscious and alert about 10 to 12 feet below grade in the sewer opening just outside of downtown St. Paul.

St. Paul fire says they rescued a man Tuesday who’d been trapped underground for several days. Deputy Chief Jamie Smith says they were called to the 400 block of University Avenue on a report of a man stuck 10 to 12 feet below a sewer opening.