MERRIAM, Kan. — A 72-year-old woman is doing well after a scary fall over the weekend. Diana Patterson fell into a dark, cold cistern and had to be rescued by firefighters.
Patterson said she stepped onto a concrete slab that covered an old, underground water tank in her yard. The concrete gave way and Patterson fell through. Patterson fell about 10 feet and landed in cold water that firefighters estimate was about 20 feet deep.
Patterson credits her husband for saving her life. She said if he hadn’t heard her cries for help she would have died.
“I thought I was going to die in that cistern,” Patterson said. “It’s not a well, it’s a cistern. It’s huge — 16 feet across and at least 20 feet deep.”
Firefighters used a special ladder, life vest and a helmet to pull Patterson to safety.
