A 12 year old boy came close to drowning in an underground drainage system in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Cardiff late yesterday.
He fell into a fast flowing open drain, was swept under a road and then plucked from the torrent before disappearing into a stormwater system beneath a shopping centre.
Shop keepers heard the boy’s screams just after 4.00 pm as heavy rain lashed the area. Rescuers reached the boy who was clinging to a ledge.
The local business chamber is today calling for the open drains to be covered.
