Rescue under way for man trapped two days down Arizona mine shaft

Sheriff’s deputies were preparing early Wednesday night to rescue a man trapped for two days 100 feet down a western Arizona mine shaft, authorities said.

The man fell down the shaft on Monday but wasn’t discovered until earlier Wednesday by a “good Samaritan,” Maricopa County sheriff’s Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez said on Twitter.

A medical helicopter was on the scene near Aguila, about 80 miles northwest of Phoenix, after authorities lowered a medic down the shaft to check on the man, Enriquez said. The man’s injuries weren’t clear, but Enriquez described him as alert and talking.

MCSO search and rescue units are starting extraction of the victim that fell into the mine shaft. Airvac is waiting for transport.

— @SgtJEnriquez (@SgtJEnriquez) October 18, 2018

No other details, including the man’s identity or how he fell down the mine shaft, were immediately available.