A 26-year-old man was charged with mischief and slapped with a fine of $5,000 (around ₹4 lakh) after he was stuck inside a public artwork in Canada’s Edmonton and had to be rescued by firefighters. The artwork, which is made up of large silver metal spheres, was cut open to rescue the trapped man.
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On April 9, firefighters were called to the Talus Dome sculpture around 8:30 pm after someone walking by noticed a strange sight, reported CBC News. A video of the incident has gone viral in which a passerby documented the incident on his phone and poked his head inside the sculpture for a closer look.
The person who shot the video has been identified as Connor Schwindt. He said that he was on a post-Easter dinner run past the sculpture perched on the edge of Fox Drive and the Quesnell Bridge when he noticed a commotion.
After seeing firefighters attempting to carry out the rescue work, Schwindt said he asked if it was a man or animal trapped inside.
He said the man inside the structure was beginning to panic. “It was kind of like watching a mouse fall into a bucket,” said Schwindt.
“He was just kind of running around inside of it starting to freak out because he couldn’t get out.”
According to the police, the man had climbed on top of the structure, damaging several of the balls of the structure, and became trapped inside soon after. Three crews, including a technical rescue team, were involved in the call, said a spokesperson for Edmonton fire rescue services.