Kenneth P. Magallanes saved Leslie K. Masutani from suffocation, Waiau, Hawaii, February 21, 1963. Leslie, 2, fell into an abandoned underground cesspool 15 feet deep in which there were nauseous gases and a low percentage of oxygen and sank to above his waist in muck three feet deep. His father ran to where an oil drum with the ends removed extended from the top of the cesspool to 18 inches above the ground. He could not get into the cesspool through an opening 12 inches wide and 18 inches long in its concrete top. Firemen were summoned, but none was small enough to get through the opening. They dropped two air cylinders into the cesspool. Kenneth, 11, schoolboy, and his mother were among persons at the scene. With his mother’s permission Kenneth volunteered to enter the cesspool to aid Leslie. Others warned him not to do so. The fire captain at first refused but, fearing a delay to uncover the cesspool might be fatal to Leslie, then accepted Kenneth’s offer. The firemen placed Kenneth in a rope sling and lowered him. He had difficulty breathing near the top of the cesspool. Although he feared the presence of centipedes and scorpions, Kenneth stood knee-deep in the muck, pulled Leslie out of it, and locked his arms around him. The firemen raised the two boys, but they could not pass through the opening together. Kenneth again experienced difficulty in breathing and began to choke with nausea as he tried to lift Leslie to a fireman leaning into the oil drum. Leslie then slipped from Kenneth’s grasp and fell back to the bottom. The firemen drew Kenneth part way into the oil drum, where he inhaled fresh air. The captain showed him a looped rope and explained how to fasten it around Leslie. The rope and Kenneth then were lowered to the bottom. After Kenneth had attached the rope and locked his arms around Leslie, they were raised again to the opening. A fireman took Leslie from Kenneth, who then was lifted through the opening after he had been inside the cesspool between three and four minutes. Leslie was badly dazed, and Kenneth was nauseated. Both recovered.
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