New York Police Investigate People Emerging From Manholes

NEW YORK. Police in New York City have launched an investigation after people were seen emerging from manholes (covers for drains and underground utility systems) in recent weeks.

This investigation was initiated after many videos went viral on social media. Those videos show people emerging from the underground drainage system at various locations during the night.

In a statement on Monday, the New York City Police Department said, ‘NYPD sent officers from its highly trained Emergency Service Unit into the sewer system to ensure there was no threat to public safety. They searched to see if any harmful or suspicious items were left behind, but nothing of the sort was found.’

According to the police, employees of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, which manages the sewer system, also inspected the system and reported no damage to sewer-related equipment or structures.

So far, no arrests have been made in connection with this incident, and no information has come to light about anyone being harmed in relation to this matter.

Speaking to NBC, a senior law enforcement official shared a potential theory that investigators are considering. According to him, those individuals might be looking for valuable items that get washed away in the sewer system.

According to the police, the first information about such activity was received last Thursday night around 11 p.m. A witness reported seeing eight people removing a manhole cover near McDonald Avenue and Collin Place in the Bensonhurst area.

According to the NYPD, about three hours later, those individuals were seen emerging from the same manhole. A video posted on social media shows eight people coming out of the sewer system and changing clothes near some parked cars.

About two hours after the incident in Gravesend, police received another call. This time, information came about some people entering a manhole near Hayward Street and Bedford Avenue in the Williamsburg area.

According to officials, the group resurfaced after more than two and a half hours and then got into a car and left. A video obtained by local media outlet Williamsburg 365 shows seven people emerging from a manhole. The last person is also seen closing the manhole cover after coming out.

These incidents appear similar to a similar incident that occurred on May 5. At that time, residents of Astoria reported seeing some people opening a manhole cover near 20th Avenue and 36th Street around 2 a.m.

Speaking to NBC New York, eyewitness Aki Jakupovic said, ‘Three strangers were walking around in strange outfits. They opened the sewer cover and went inside like ‘Ninja Turtles’.’

Surveillance camera footage obtained by NBC New York shows those individuals carrying flashlights and wearing long special boots used in water and mud.

Jakupovic further added, ‘I was watching them, they were watching me. I felt their intentions were not good. They went inside, closed the cover, and then it was as if they had never been there.’

It is not yet clear whether all these incidents are related to each other.

From The Guardian