Firefighters say teens rescued from flooded tunnel in New Jersey should serve as cautionary tale
EDGEWATER, N.J. -- Sunday's floodwaters turned frightening for two teens in New Jersey.
They were trapped in an abandoned train tunnel between Edgewater and Fairview. Rescuers could only reach them using a raft.
It's known to locals as the "Devil's Hole" -- a mile-long dark and abandoned rail line that has inspired all sorts of urban legends.
On Sunday afternoon, it also became the scene of a cautionary tale.
"When we got here it was just a muddy disaster," Edgewater Fire Department Lt. Thomas Quinton Jr. said.
Quinton and Lt. Robert Jacobson got the emergency call around 4:30 p.m. for a water rescue inside the Edgewater Fairview Train Tunnel. Two 14-year-old boys had been exploring the secret passageway when it started flooding during a severe storm. The water levels were so high, firefighters had to swim to them with a boat in tow.
"They looked cold. They were sitting on a pipe and kind of hugging it. Part of them was in the water. They said they were there for two hours. It couldn't have been comfortable," Quinton said.
Firefighters said the teens were clearly remorseful about what they'd done, explaining they read about the attraction on weirdnj.com and entered the tunnel from a cemetery on the Fairview side, intending to exit in Edgewater.
"They got to a point where they couldn't go back and they couldn't go forward. They managed to get cell service and we got involved," Jacobson said.
"We let them know before we got out that they would have to call their parents. They didn't seem too excited about that. They said their parents didn't know yet," Quinton added.
The rescue had prompted questions about safety. The tunnel is owned by the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway. The Edgewater side is locked and a spokesperson said Monday improvements are being made to the Fairview side.
"I don't think people should be entering this at all. It's obviously dangerous in there. There's water conditions. There are trip hazards. Who knows what kind of metals. Debris is there on the ground that could hurt you," Jacobson said.
It's a lesson the boys told firefighters they've definitely learned.