A group of individuals were seen exiting a manhole near Penn Station last week, the latest in a string of incidents in recent months where people were caught wandering in the city's sewer systems.
The New York Police Department says it is investigating after the three people were videotaped climbing out of the manhole.
Other incidents of people mysteriously going in and out of NYC manholes
Earlier this summer, surveillance footage has caught multiple groups of people leaving, or entering, manholes in the middle of the night.
Two incidents were reported in Brooklyn after police were called for individuals seen going into the manholes. One of the groups was seen leaving about three hours afterward, according to the NYPD, while the second odd circumstance ended after individuals were seen crawling out and leaving in a vehicle
more than two and a half hours after.
At the time, police said there was no threat to the public, and that the sewer systems were investigated after the unknown individuals spent hours in the underground tunnels.
New incident near Penn Station
The NYPD said that they were investigating after three people were seen leaving a Manhattan manhole with headlamps on.
Video shows the group, wearing overalls, pulling themselves out from underground and running away. Reports say that the incident happened at around 4 a.m. on Tuesday, and that the sewers were inspected afterward.
It isn't immediately clear why these groups have been seen going in and out of manholes. Earlier this summer, a law enforcement official said the NYPD's main theory is that the Brooklyn trespassers were looking for valuables, according to NBC New York at the time.
How risky are NYC manholes?
In a past statement to USA TODAY, the Department of Environmental Protection emphasized that entering sewer systems in NYC is not only illegal, but "extremely dangerous."
It isn't entirely clear why the groups were going into the manholes, leading many to come up with their own theories online. But one thing is for sure: the individuals sneaking into the manholes overnight faced serious risks.
The DEP said that multiple hazards are in the systems, including:
- noxious and possibly deadly gases
- unstable surfaces
- potential flooding
- confined spaces
"For these reasons, members of the public should never enter a pipe, drain, catch basin, manhole, or outfall," the agency said. New York City's sewer network is complex, with pipes spanning over 7,400 miles.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why are people sneaking in, out of NYC sewers?
