2-year-old Shenzhen boy drowns after falling into open manhole

A two-year-old boy tragically drowned after falling into an uncovered manhole near a convenient store in the Xinqiao community of Shajing town, Shenzhen on Tuesday morning.

Two sewer drains near the store were left without manhole covers. The toddler, Liu Chenrui, fell into one that contained around 1.5-meters of standing sewage water, reported NetEase


The store keeper, a woman surnamed Zhang, told reporters that the manholes were opened by management workers. “It was said that some construction work would be carried out there in the afternoon,” she said. “But they didn’t place any board or notice as a warning for pedestrians.”

After discovering that the boy had fallen in, his grandaunt and Zhang tried to get him out but by then he’d already stopped breathing.

Footage from the scene shows the child following his grandaunt to get clean laundry in the area at 11:36 a.m. At 11:42, he was seen standing near the sewer. After one minute, when the camera turned back, the boy could no longer be seen.

The management workers involved were held for investigation.
Several horrific cases of children falling into open manholes have been reported across China, and even a few involving adults. Recently, a four-year-old boy fell in a manhole partly uncovered at a construction site in Shanghai and died.

By Lucy Liu
[Images via NetEase]