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Life or death cesspool rescue on Long Island

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

(Huntington, Long Island -WABC, April 24, 2006) (WABC) -- A man had more than just a terrifying sinking feeling when he stepped into a cesspool of sewage that formed in his front yard in Huntington, and the more he struggled to get out, the deeper he sank.

Eyewitness News reporter Lauren Defranco is live in Huntington with the story.

This really was a race against the clock. Firefighters had trouble with the rescue because the gaping hole in the ground kept getting bigger and bigger.

Lauren Defranco: "Were you panicking at the time?"

Andrew Palladino, Victim: "Well yes, it was like I could picture myself dying already."

Andrew Palladino already suffers from anxiety, so imagine how the 71-year-old felt as he was being swallowed up by the ground beneath his feet. It happened Sunday morning as Palladino was going to pick up his mail, walking across his cesspool in the front yard.

Andrew Palladino, Victim: "All of a sudden everything gave way. I just fell down straight and that's where I landed on the pile of sand there."

From that point on, it was a race against time. Palladino's wife Louise screamed for her son.

Louise Palladino, Victim's Wife: "I see only his head sticking out so I come running back in the house and I yell to my son 'Danny, Danny please help me! Help me!'"

Daniel Palladino was stunned to see his father buried alive.

Daniel Palladino, Victim's Son: "It was like a real horror picture. I couldn't believe my eyes. All I could see was just his face. It was like, this is it. I gotta do something right then and there."

But Daniel also lost his footing in what felt like quicksand. The heavy rain made the conditions even worse. He held his father by the neck and neighbors threw the men rope to hold onto until rescuers arrived.

Firefighters described the operation as delicate. They had to secure the ground with plywood before pulling the men out.

Chief Dane Martin, Huntington Manor Fire Dept.: "We were able to drop ropes down to them and the men were able to slip them around themselves and then we were able to get them up over the top."

The cause of the collapse appears to be rain. As for the Palladinos, as you can imagine, they're feeling very fortunate tonight.

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