Emergency responders pulled a man from a subterranean drainage pipe in Barangay Tatalon in Quezon City on Friday after first responders struggled to pry open a heavy manhole cover pinning him below ground.

Rescuers utilized various heavy tools to dislodge the cover along the roadway and extricate the unidentified man, who repeatedly declined to explain how or why he entered the drainage system.

Local officials initially looked into personal accounts suggesting the man entered the network following an altercation at his former partner’s birthday celebration.

“When we spoke to his former partner, she said they had been separated for a long time, and he seemed unable to accept the breakup,” barangay chairperson Kiko del Mundo said.

Del Mundo expressed skepticism over the explanation, pointing out that the specific sewer section where the man was retrieved does not align with typical river runoff paths and happens to sit directly adjacent to a local pawnshop.