Boy in Boro Park rescued after falling down manhole

A 10-year-old boy who fell into a manhole in Borough Park was lifted to safety yesterday by two Verizon employees.

The technicians -- Mike Kroski and Tom Prestia -- lent their ladder to a police officer on the scene to rescue the child from the open manhole near the corner of 49th Street and 13th Avenue shortly before 9 a.m., according to spokesmen for the NYPD and Verizon. After the rescue, the Hatzolah EMS took the child to Lutheran Medical Center with a bruised right leg.

A Department of Environmental Protection crew that responded found a broken manhole cover inside a sewer line below the street, according to the agency. It is unclear whether the boy fell through the broken cover or the open manhole. Repairs and an investigation are underway.