Firefighters rescue naked man trapped in the wall of an historic theatre

Firefighters in Syracuse, New York have rescued a man who found himself trapped in a wall in the historic Landmark Theatre.

And, apparently, he was naked.

Theatre employees called 911 at around 7:30am on 6 November after hearing banging and calls for help from within the wall, according to the Syracuse Fire Department.

In a post to Facebook, the local fire department said the man was seen entering the theatre two to three days before he was rescued, but it was not clear how he gained access to the area behind the wall.

Rescuers drilled a hole in the wall and used a fibre-optic camera to determine where the man was and how to extract him.

They managed to free the man after cutting through several layers of drywall and structural clay tile.

Mike Intaglietta, executive director of the theatre, told Syracuse.com that staff had seen the man wandering around the theatre earlier in the week.

“I don’t know if he was entering to keep warm or to use the bathroom. I don’t know,” he said.

Syracuse Fire deputy chief John Kane said the man entered a crawl space in the building, where he hid for two days before he fell into a wall in the men’s bathroom, according to the local media outlet.

Kane said the man was naked when firefighters found him and had no visible injuries, but was likely suffering from dehydration.

Locals have commented on the fire department’s post speculating that the man may have been a ghost hunter on the lookout for the theatre’s legendary ghost, Clarissa, who has reportedly been appearing to patrons and workers at the Landmark since the 1970s.

One commenter, who said their dad worked at the theatre, said the man was homeless and entered the crawlspace to hide from workers.

Featured image source: iStock/DebraMillet