‘VERY FORTUNATE’ MAN SURVIVES AFTER 2 DAYS IN MINE SHAFT

An Arizona man fell to the bottom of an abandoned gold mine shaft, broke both his legs, fought off a trio of rattlesnakes and went two days without food or water before a friend heard his cries for help. “He is a very fortunate individual,” said Roger Yensen of the Maricopa County Sheriff ’s Mountain Rescue Posse. John Waddell, 62, owns the land where the shaft is located north of Phoenix and was using a rope to lower himself into it on Monday when he lost control and fell at least 15 metres. He had a cellphone but no service. On Wednesday, his friend Terry Schrader ventured by the shaft outside the town of Aguila. “As I pulled out my truck I could hear him hollering, ‘Help, help!’ ” Schrader told FOX10 Phoenix. Yesen said it took about three hours to lift Waddell the 31 metres to safety.