FRACKVILLE - A 12-year-old borough girl was pulled from the Little Mahanoy Creek Monday afternoon after she was swept away in flash flooding caused by heavy rain.
Firefighters were called to the area of 3rd and Arch streets at 4:52 p.m. for a report of a child swept into a storm drain by swift-running water.
William Lindenmuth, Frackville assistant fire chief, said crews were already in the area at the rear of 259 S. 3rd St. for a pump detail when the call came in.
The child, whose name was not released, went into the stream between Center and Arch streets and Second and Arch streets and was swept into one of two drainage pipes, officials said.
Lindenmuth said firefighters scrambled to 3rd and Arch streets under which the creek runs but the girl had already passed that point.
A short time later she was pulled from the water in the area of Chestnut and New streets.
Lindenmuth and Frackville police officer in charge Marvin Livergood said emergency personnel from Frackville EMS and Shenandoah ALS wanted to have the girl flown to a trauma center, but all medical helicopters were grounded due to weather conditions.
The girl was taken to an area hospital for treatment but both Lindenmuth and Livergood were unsure where she was taken.
Livergood and Don Zimmerman, director of the borough's Department of Public Works, said the girl was underground in storm drainage piping for about 200 yards before the creek opened. She was rescued about another 300 yards downstream.
"She was underground for about 200 yards and went about 500 yards total before she was pulled from the water," Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman said the heavy rain caused Arch Street, between Center and Second streets to go under about a foot of water.
He said a majority of storm drains in the borough empty, at one point or another, into Little Mahanoy Creek. This, he said, caused the stream to swell and flood the area.
Lindenmuth said the girl was located and removed from the water in about 15 minutes.
As a precaution, water rescue teams from Mahanoy City and Schuylkill Haven were called but their assistance was not needed.
Also assisting were firefighters from Altamont in West Mahanoy Township and Englewood in Butler Township.